The Heart Of An Inquisitor
by Stateria
Summary: "I am not a hero!" Was what she told everyone. What Leliana heard deep in her voice was something completely different. What she heard was a cry from someone who didn't want to be a hero but needed one instead. (FemInquisitioner/Leliana) Captured, interrogated, and then suddenly expected to save everyone. The only thing Skylar knows is that she needs to close those rifts. R&R
1. Chapter 1

She could tell that the mark was hurting her just by looking at the expression that was on the face of the girl who was standing on the opposite side of the war table. Every time she leaned her hand on something there was always a tiny grimace that followed before she would withdraw her hand to her side and from there she could clench it into a tight fist and that would be how she stayed until she was out of view. Leliana wondered just how she managed to hold onto a dagger without it slipping from her hand?

Skylar never said anything about the pain, no one knew. No one except for a certain redhead. Leliana's skilled eyes picked up on everything about everyone. But at the moment Skylar was her favorite little target, she couldn't explain why... Perhaps it was because this small, odd, girl that no one seemed to know stepped out of the rift just over a week ago and now was known as the Herald of Andraste. Truthfully Leliana thought that Skylar was going to die from the first moment she laid eyes on her. She was barely breathing and didn't look like she was going to survive the first night they had her. But here she was, stronger than ever.

Part of Leliana wanted to go over there and take a look at the marking to see if there was anything she could do about it. But the other part of her knew that there was absolutely nothing that could be done for the poor girl.

But it was not only the little grimaces of pain that Leliana was picking up on, she was also noticing how she was carrying herself these past few days. Her shoulders were drooped and she had dark circles under her eyes. She looked completely exhausted.

Was she getting any sleep at all?

Or was Skylar pushing herself so hard that she worked through out the night as well.

Leliana tiled her head to the side slightly and crossed her arms over her chest as Josephine continued to write down notes.

They had just finished a meeting and couldn't leave until their scribe had all the information she needed.

Cullen was murmuring to Cassandra about something that had to do with the Templars and it seemed that was what Josephine was taking notes on. They couldn't decide on where to move Cullen and his men. Leaving them smack dab in the middle of Haven did nothing but disturb the villagers so Cassandra was finally doing something about it.

Leliana tilted her head to the other side as she looked away from the three who were still heavily in their discussion to Skylar who had her own arms crossed over her chest. It looked as though she was having a very hard time keeping her eyes open. Leliana bit her bottom lip to stop herself from giggling when she caught their Herold nearly fall asleep were she was standing. Skylar's eyes drooped shut and her head hung low for barely a second before she shot back up to standing up straight.

"I think perhaps we should cut this meeting short. It seems our Herald might fall asleep where she is standing." Leliana's voice had a teasing edge to it.

There were a few murmurs that agreed to Leliana's suggestion. The truth was that everyone was exhausted, not just the Herold. No one was sleeping right knowing that there was a giant hole in the sky that threatened the survival of every living creature in the world.

But despite everyone agreeing with Leliana, Skylar was the first to leave the room. No one knew that she was actually gone until Leliana looked back towards where Skylar had been. She had left without making a single sound. The small girl had the skill of making herself disappear. It both fascinated and scared the redhead all at the same time. Someone with that skill only would have it for one of two reasons. One for their use in the field or two... Because she has had to make herself disappear in the past.

Leliana guessed it was the second. Skylar's battle skills were... Questionable...

With a shrug to Cassandra who looked like she was shocked with how their Herald had abandoned their meeting so suddenly Leliana left in hopes that she could somehow catch up with Skylar. But it didn't take her too long to realize that there was no way that she was going to find the smaller girl until she was needed.

And so with a heavy sigh Leliana placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"If I had known her before all of this I swear she would have made a great agent..." She muttered to herself before she made her way over to her tent where a nervous looking agent of her's was waiting for her.

After all of the bad luck she had been receiving during the past few weeks Leliana was not surprised to hear that one of her own agents had been betraying them right under her nose all this time. In fact that agent was responsible for the death of one of Leliana's favorite agents!

Leliana was beyond furious, if she could, Leliana would be spitting fire.

She didn't even know that she was yelling. "Find him, Deal with him, make it painless if you can, but if you can't it doesn't matter, kill him." She demanded as she jabbed her poor Agent's chest with a gloved finger.

"Kill who?" A confused sounding voice spoke up from behind Leliana, making both the Agent and the Redhead jump slightly.

Leliana turned around to find none other than Skylar leaning against a post with her arms crossed over her chest. She had a very curious look on her face. Once again Leliana was surprised with how Skylar was always able to sneak up on her.

Leliana should have known that it was too much to ask for when she hoped that no one would hear her discussion from her tent. Hell, the tent didn't even close. it was completely open to the world. Of course someone would hear, hell, anyone could see everything from anywhere within the village. Leliana mentally kicked herself. She should have known better than to discuss the fate of a traitor in a tent.

"None of your concern." Leliana waved a hand dismissively towards Skylar. Despite Skylar being the apparently Herald of Andraste Leliana was still level headed. Skylar was just a simple girl who somehow found herself smack dab in the middle of Chaos. Despite Skylar going out on missions and everything... The poor girl didn't have even so much as an ounce of skill in fighting under her belt at all. Leliana had seen the way she held a bow or how she held her daggers, even Skylar's stance.

Skylar was somewhere where she didn't belong and Leliana was not going to let this girl step on her toes. Skylar may have been interesting in many ways, but she was NOT going to interfere with Leliana's work. The Spymaster wouldn't allow it.

"None of my concern?" Skylar spoke up as she pushed herself away from the post and took a step closer to Leliana. The smaller girl was ready to challenge the redhead. "Have you forgotten? Apparently everything that happens here needs to go through me, so if you are planning on murdering someone I would really like to know." Skylar narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest as she waited to hear what Leliana had to say. Skylar may have been seen as a simple girl by her supposed new team mates... But Skylar was the one who was closing the rifts, and Skylar was the first face people thought about when they thought about the Inquisition, so she didn't have to guess that it would be her name that would be tarnished if Leliana made a bad choice.

"I am dealing with a traitor that has been working under my supervision for a while now, it is my responsibility to get rid of them before they do something that could really do us harm." Leliana's voice was raising as she spoke. The wind picked up and the snow whipped around them.

"Dealing with them?" Skylar scoffed. "You want to simply kill the man and be done with it! Does that make you any better than him?" Skylar spat as she dropped her arms to her sides and clenched her fists so tight that her knuckles went pale. "

Leliana took a step closer and towered over Skylar. "What I do is for the well being of the Inquisition. Do not stick your nose where it doesn't belong." Leliana hissed.

Skylar shook her head and stared Leliana straight in the eyes. "In case you haven't noticed... I am part of this Inquisition, Not by my choice... But so far it is my name that people think of when the inquisition is mentioned. So if they hear about the inquisition murdering people do you think that anyone would listen to me the next time you people send me out on a errand to recruit more people?" Skylar took another step forward, forcing the redhead to take one back. "I will not let you send anyone out there to murder a man, Traitor or not. No one else knows of the situation but if something happens and people find out about that man being murdered it will look like cold blooded murder by the inquisition."

Skylar paused for a moment to see if Leliana had anything to say. When she didn't hear another word from the Redhead Skylar huffed and tilted her head to the side. "What? Didn't think that far ahead? Are you not supposed to be some insanely smart spymaster?" She blinked. "Don't do anything that will tarnish the name of your 'Andraste's Herald'." Skylar waved her hands sarcastically. "So far... This person right here." She motioned to herself. "Has been the only thing that has been keeping the peace with everyone and closing those bloody rifts." Skylar hissed. She didn't even notice that she had Leliana backed right up so Leliana's back was against the edge of a wooden table. "You tarnish my name with a bad choice you make my job harder... And quite frankly this is a job that I really don't want to do, so you make it harder for me you increase my already very high urge of disappearing and not coming back, do I make myself clear?" Skylar blinked once before she finally stepped back enough to give the very shocked looking redhead room to breath.

After what seemed like a hour of silence Leliana turned her back to her Herald and placed her hands on top of the wooden table and shook her head. "Fine, bring me the traitor, but do not kill him." She hissed before she looked over her shoulder towards Skylar who was still glaring at her.

"Everything I do is for the good of the inquisition, Herald... Do not ever doubt that." Leliana's voice was very low and threatening.

"Oh both you and Cassandra made that clear when you guys locked me up and interrogated me for three days straight." Skylar snapped right back. "I am going to make something perfectly clear for you." Skylar pointed at Leliana with her marked hand. "I don't want to be here, I don't want to be a hero, I certainly am not your Herald and I am not guilty of anything and do not make this harder than it already is for me. You guys only have one person in this whole damn world who can close those rifts right now, and that person is me." Skylar stood up straight and turned on her heel to make her way out of that tent before Leliana could stop her. "I expected better from you, Leliana. From the stories I have heard about you... I expected someone completely different from the person I have seen so far." That was the last thing Skylar said before she vanished back into the keep.

Leliana was left standing in her tent.

She had a heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Guilt.

What Skylar had said was nothing but the truth.

Everything they do will effect the Inquisition.

And the only one who was part of that Inquisition that actually had real power to bring people together was Skylar, the Herald of Andrastre, the closer of rifts, the hero. So it was true. If something did happen and Leliana did in fact have one of her agents kill that man and people heard how the Inquisition murdered someone it would be Skylar's name on the line. No one would listen to a girl who's inquisition murdered people.

She ran her hands over her face and sighed.

The pressure was too much for her. She was not thinking straight. And now Skylar thought that Leliana was nothing more than a thug who told a group of people what to do and who to beat down.

Leliana wanted to go after Skylar but there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her to let the girl go. The poor thing needed rest. Talking to Skylar in the state she was in at that moment was completely pointless, Leliana would possibly do more harm than good.

With a dull thud of Leliana's fist lightly slamming down onto the surface of the table she hung her head in shame. "Stupid..." She muttered to herself, shaking her head. "I need to make smarter decisions... I can't make this same mistake twice..." She turned her head towards the doors leading into the keep. It was only then that Leliana processed what Skylar had said.

Stories?

Skylar had heard Stories about her?

Thinking about that and then thinking about how Skylar expected someone completely different it made Leliana's already broken heart ache. What had she been expecting? And what stories had she heard.

"I need to fix this." She whispered to herself as she pushed some papers aside before she hung her head.


	2. Someone's In Trouble

The night dragged on as if it was going to last forever, at least that is what it felt like to the Spymaster. She made it her goal to stay up all night and wait for Skylar to wake up. She was determined to get everything out in the open. If they were going to work together they had to be on the same level and at least try to understand each other. But of course Leliana's plan didn't go her way.

After remaining awake the entire night Leliana somehow missed the opportunity to talk to Skylar.

She waited until morning to go see her, Leliana thought that the least she could do was let the smaller girl sleep. Only Maker knows how long Skylar went without a good long night's rest.

But when morning finally arrived and Leliana went to her chambers she found that the Herald was already gone. Leliana had actually stayed up all night waiting to go and see Skylar only to miss out on her chance.

With frustration fresh in her gut Leliana whacked the back of her head against a wall she was leaning against and cursed herself. How did she miss her? How did she not see or hear Skylar leaving? Despite Leliana's senses being as sharp as the finest needle Skylar managed to dodge them all without even trying.

Of course Skylar took Cassandra with her, along with Solus and Varric. Those three always remained by the Herald's side if Skylar left the safety of Haven. Their main goal was to keep Skylar safe, if Skylar died then all was lost. She was the only hope of closing the rift.

Sometimes Leliana wondered why they even let Skylar out of the village, then of course she remembered all the much smaller, and still very dangerous rifts that were scattered about the land. They not only needed Skylar safe but they needed her to keep putting herself in harm's way to close those rifts. She was also the only person that certain people would speak to.

And that was why Skylar left Haven today. She was sent out to some bog like area called the Fallow Mire to meet with some group of people who took a bunch of their soldiers hostage. Skylar's goal was to try and convince them to let the soldiers go without fighting them. But Leliana knew better than to hope that was how things were going to go. No one simply takes a group of men and then lets them go without at least a bit of bloodshed.

Before Leliana knew what she was doing she found herself walking straight into Josephine's office.

The poor woman was at her desk and didn't even have time to greet the redhead before Leliana started.

"And the reason we sent our Herald out into a bog full of dangerous men with only three people for backup because...?" Leliana placed both of her hands on top of Josephine's desk and leaned forward so the woman who was sitting could see how serous she was.

Josephine blinked a few times before she could find the right words to say. "Well we don't have the extra people to spare, last I checked the people who would be the ones to back up Skylar are the ones being held captive at the moment." She paused for a second as Leliana's death stare really began to sink in, for the first time Josephine actually felt like she was under pressure. the poor woman could work under any kind of stress but having Leliana looking at her like that was something completely different.

"Skylar is our top priority and you organized this mission for her, did we just send our one and only hope of this world's survival to her doom?" Leliana stopped and stood up straight. Was this not what Skylar tried to explain to her yesterday? Bad choices would effect Skylar and today Skylar made a bad one of her own by walking out those doors.

She ran her hands over her face and turned on her heel to make her way out of Josephine's office before Leliana could wring her neck.

"We didn't have a choice, Leliana!" Josephine called after her. "We lack the troops and that bog is full of rifts! Which makes more sense? Sending a small group of troops into a place full of rifts or sending a small group with someone who has the ability to close them?" Josephine was standing by the time she was done speaking.

"It doesn't matter!" Leliana stopped and turned back around with narrowed eyes. "If Skylar dies this world dies with her, do you understand? Because I only just realized that myself! And we have been doing nothing but sending her out there over and over again, we might as well just be holding her head underwater until she stops breathing and pulling her back out right before she dies completely, and then when she recovers we do it all over again. This girl is going to die and her blood will be on our hands!" Leliana didn't realize she was yelling until she spotted a Chantry sister from the corner of her eye. The poor woman looked like she was about to take off running.

Josephine sighed. "I know, Leliana. We all know. It's a high risk that we have to take. Skylar is the only one who can close those rifts and so far she has been doing a very good job at it." She sat down and leaned back in her chair with a small shrug. "What more do you expect? For us to lock her up in a tower and bring her out only when we desperately need her to close a rift? We need her to close as many as she can."

"So, what?" Leliana's voice was much quieter now. "Use her like a tool until she is of no further use to us?" For the first time Leliana felt the guilt catch up with her. "She clearly doesn't want to be here can we keep forcing her to keep doing what she is doing?" The redhead sighed.

Josephine leaned forward with a determined look on her face. "Skylar is not going anywhere." Her voice was very firm.

"And how can you be so sure, yesterday her and I had a fallout and from what I can tell Skylar looks like she wants to run away and not come back." Leliana raised a brow. "And who are we to stop her?" Leliana was back in front of Josephine's desk, but this time she was looking for answers.

"Because right now by her closing as many rifts as she can she is only furthering her own life span." Josephine explained. "With the rifts opening up like they have been doing have you not noticed how Skylar is reacting to them?" Josephine tilted her head tot he side. "They hurt her, with every new rift left open she is one step closer to death. They are killing her. So she has to keep closing them if she wants to stay alive." The dark haired woman's voice was low and dead serous.

Leliana didn't know what to say. What she had just heard was new to her. She had known from day one that the mark was causing Skylar pain but now knowing that Skylar is in fact slowly dying struck a whole new nerve with Leliana. "To... Keep herself from dying... She needs to close them." Her voice was but a whisper. "So, Skylar is dying?" She asked.

Josephine nodded. "Yes."

Leliana looked around the room as if she was looking for answers. "And if she closes all the rifts, including the huge one in the sky, she will live?" She asked.

"There is no guarantee... But it is quite possible." Josephine shrugged.

"Does Skylar know?" Was Leliana's final question.

"I would imagine so, yes. She is the one enduring the pain of every single rift. If that is not a huge sign right there I would imagine that it was the possibly one of the first things Cassandra told her." Josephine said as she looked down at her notes. "Leliana... Don't think about it too hard, in a way we all are balancing on a fence right now. Skylar is our only hope, we know the risks, so does she and so do you. Best not to think about it too hard." Josephine picked up her quill before she looked up at Leliana with apologetic eyes. "Leliana... I have to get back to work now... There are certain things that can't be done without my approval...You and I can speak again later." She said with a kind smile.

But Leliana didn't see her smile. She instead turned around and walked out of that room and straight out of the Chantry.

She stayed in her tent doing her own paperwork as she waited for Skylar to return. She and that smaller girl were going to have one very long talk... There was no way that Leliana was going to let this slide by, not after Skylar said what she had said last night. How she was going about her business, talking so many risks, putting her life on the line, and then to yell at Leliana about something as simple as a bad choice!? No. Leliana was putting her foot down.

If Leliana and that Herald were going to work together then a few things needed to be said and a few rules had to be placed, and if she had to tie Skylar to a chair or lock her in a cell to do that then that was what she was going to do. Leliana sighed and shook her head. And if Skylar thought that she was going to use that stupid disappearing act again then she had another thing coming! Leliana knew how to play that game and she knew how to play it well. And there was one thing about Leliana... She never lost.

"You are working far too hard."

A voice made Leliana jump and turn around so fast that she almost threw all her paperwork to the snow covered ground. There standing at the front of her tent was Seggrit. The merchant who had set up shop there in Haven when all hell broke loose. Truthfully that man was not looked at as a good man. He increased his prices and made it almost impossible for someone to buy a loaf a bread without giving up a limb for it.

"I do what I must do to keep the people safe." Leliana's tone was dismissive as she turned back to her work. Part of her wanted to bark at the man and tell him to go away. He shouldn't even be in her tent. Almost all of the documents that she had laid out in front of her were private and not for the eyes of just anyone.

"Don't you think you should get a break once in a while?" He asked with a little smirk on his face. The Merchant stepped into the tent and leaned against the wooden post as he stared at Leliana's back. "Even just for an hour, I bet you are hungry, we could go and get something to eat, my treat." He shrugged as he continued to watch her.

"No thank you." Leliana sighed as she flipped one of her documents over so that she could read the back of it. "I will eat later." It took Leliana only a second to realize that the man was not simply going to leave her alone. With a heavy sigh she turned around and crossed her arms over her chest. The moment she was facing the merchant she felt the sting of the cold wind against her face. Now she remembered why she had the table put on that side of the tent. To keep the wind from assaulting her, and at least this time she was smart enough to use paperweights... "Seggrit. I am very busy and I understand what you are trying to do and I am flattered but I have a lot of work to do so..." She trailed off when her ears perked up at the sound of horse hooves in the distance.

Had time really gone by that fast? She looked around and realized that it was the dead of night. Leliana literally spent all day outside in her tent going though paperwork and organizing her agents.

"Excuse me." She muttered as she shoved by the Merchant.

Seggrit instantly looked annoyed. "Where are you going!?" He called after her as he held his arms out the his sides. "You don't have time to go get something to eat with me but you have time to go wandering around?" He complained as his arms dropped to his sides. "Women..." The merchant sighed as he kicked at the ground.

Leliana was too far away to hear what the man complain. She burst through the gates leading into Haven in time to see Cassandra helping a very beaten and bloody looking Skylar down from a horse that made Skylar look so very small when she stood beside it.

The sound of a small hiss of pain coming from Skylar the moment her feet hit the ground extinguished the burning fury Leliana had in her gut. One moment she wanted to drag Skylar away by her ear and yell at her but then the next she realized that maybe her anger could wait another night.

As the horses were taken to the Stables Cassandra began to help Skylar up the stairs and into the safety of the village.

"What happened?" Leliana spoke up as they reached her.

"The chief was bigger and meaner than I thought he would be." Skylar's voice was a mumble as she gave her head a shake. "And he hit a lot harder than I thought too..." The entire right side of the Herold's face was covered in blood from a gash that was on her forehead. Leliana didn't even have to guess that it was caused by her getting punched by an attacker wearing a ring.

"She did very well." Cassandra spoke up as she continued to help Skylar. "He wasn't going to let the soldiers go without Skylar accepting his challenge, not only did she accept but she also won and every soldier is alive, a few injured, but alive." The short haired woman looked over her shoulder towards the group of men and woman Skylar had saved. "Even I am impressed." Cassandra shrugged.

Leliana ran her hands over her face as she released a sigh. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Take Skylar into the Chantry, I will be in shortly to help her. I have a few things I need to attend to but I will be quick." The redhead leaned forward so that her eyes were leveled with Skylar's who suddenly looked very nervous. "I need to talk to you so if you even think about pulling your vanishing act on me I will have you hunted down and dragged back by your ankles and bound to a chair. So don't even try it." Leliana's voice was a hiss. Even Cassandra looked surprised.

"What's eating you, Lel?" Verric caught the tail end of what Leliana had to say. By the look on his face there was a moment where he had a completely different idea as to what Leliana was talking about. His face turned a light shade of red as he grinned. But he quickly shook his head and cleared his throat before Leliana could catch him, he didn't want the wrath of the Spymaster falling down on his head too. Seeing Leliana in a state like this was always entertaining to him, mainly because it wasn't him who she was normally angry with. But if it was he would be running for the hills. She had the power to wipe him off the face of the earth as if he never existed so he thought it was probably best to stay on her good side.

"Nothing is eating me." Leliana answered him with a glare. "Just get her into the Chantry, either I or a Chantry sister will come and help with her." She said as she pointed towards the Chantry. She wore the look of a mother who was scolding her child.

Solas was behind Varric and couldn't stop himself from giving Leliana a odd look. "Did something happen?" He asked, worrying that perhaps Haven had been attacked while they were away. The Elven Mage began to look around in search of any sign of anything that was out of place, but when he didn't find anything he just looked down at the Dwarf who was standing in front of him and arched a brow. "Have I missed something?" He asked.

Varric only shrugged. "I have come to the conclusion that Human women are a very complicated species." His voice was a raspy chuckle as he reached up and patted Skylar on the back of the shoulder. "This one here however is the only one I have come to understand, besides she is quite small for a human." He said jokingly before he motioned for Solas to follow him. Varric was just happy that Skylar was a human who was small enough where she couldn't loom over him like Cassandra did on a hourly basis. "Good luck, Short stuff! You're gonna need it!" Varric called as he walked away with his crossbow leaning against his shoulder.

Skylar watched helplessly as Solas and Varric both walked away. Solas spared her a apologetic glance before he disappeared into Haven without so much as another word.

All Skylar could do was let Cassandra lead her into the Chantry.

"Something tells me that someone is very angry with you right now." Cassandra muttered as she lead Skylar into a room.

"Yeah I can tell." The smaller girl grumbled as she was sat down on a bed. "But honestly... I don't think I will be able to keep my eyes open long enough to endure a lecture." She whispered.

Cassandra raised a brow. "And why is that?" The warrior took a step back and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because the room keeps spinning and I think I'm gonna..." That was the last thing Skylar said before she slumped forward.

Thankfully the warrior was close enough to catch the smaller girl before she could fall straight onto the floor.

After lifting her up and laying her down on the bed Cassandra began to call for help. She didn't know what to do!

The sound of fast footsteps echoing off the stone walls rapidly grew closer.

**To be Continued. **

**I hope you guys are enjoying it so far!**

**XD I even went back to the first chapter and caught the typos I missed. It's always after I post the story when I see the typos.**

**Tell me what you guys think so far! I look forward to feedback!**


	3. To Mend what has been broken

Her brow twitched but her eyes remained shut as she listened to the murmurs of the people out in the hall just outside of her room. She didn't have to guess that it was Cassandra, Cullen, Josephine and Leliana all bickering about what to do about their Herald. Obviously they were all pretty shaken up with the fact that their savior had been injured by a man who was dubbed insane. Skylar had fainted some time go and had just woken only a few moments prior, but despite being awake she didn't want to open her eyes yet.

The rapid and not so quiet murmurs that were coming from just outside her door kept her from falling back asleep. Truthfully, Skylar didn't know if she wanted to fall unconscious again or not. She definitely could use the rest but realizing that she couldn't remember anything after the moment she stepped into the room frightened her more than she thought it should.

Skylar thought about opening her eyes and getting up but then she thought that maybe she should just stay there for a little while longer. There was a tiny part of her that was scared to open her eyes in case someone else was in the room. She didn't want to talk about what happened or why she fainted, she didn't want to deal with that stress. She already knew why she fainted. She was exhausted, and not only that, a man challenged her and beat her senseless! Everything from broken ribs, deep wounds, and most likely a concussion were all factors leaning towards why she fell unconscious. She was just lucky it didn't happen while she was riding her horse. Somehow fainting and falling off a horse didn't sound like something she wanted to do any time soon.

Time continued to tick by and Skylar finally decided to open her eyes and sit up. Her head was still throbbing but it was not half as bad as how it had been. Looking down at her arms she could see that healers must have tried to attend to her wounds. There was scabbing that would heal over time.

She reached up with a bandaged hand and touched her forehead where she had been gouged by her attacker's ring. She was met by an angry scab that too already started to heal.

"Solus." Skylar chuckled.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the Elven mage fast asleep in an arm chair with his staff propped up against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest and his chin was tucked down and if Skylar didn't know any better she could have sworn that she spotted one of his pointy ears flicking slightly in his sleep.

Of course Solus would be the one who would tend to her wounds. He did mention that he was learning a few healing spells just so he could be of use to the healers. And from what Skylar could tell he was doing a very good job so far. Skylar couldn't even feel the damage to her ribs anymore.

She took the time to lift up her shirt and look down at herself. There was still a bit of faint bruising but obviously the ribs themselves were no longer fractured, it seemed as though he focused more on her bones than her flesh, not that Skylar was complaining at all.

She allowed the fabric of her shirt to slip from her delicate fingers and fall back into place as she turned her left hand over so she could look at the faint green glow of the mark that seemed to have taken over her life. With her opposite hand she gently ran her fingers over the mark. There was a faint sting that prickled in protest at the contact. The faint glowing beneath her skin reminded Skylar of the time she had burned her hand with red hot metal. How the burn had stung her for days before she finally began to heal. However this was much different. The sting was not letting up. In fact it only got worse with the Rifts that kept popping up all over the place. Only when the Rifts were closed did Skylar ever feel any relief.

But despite Skylar working herself to the bone it seemed that with every one Rift she closed another one opened someplace else. She was beginning to have a hard time keeping up! Exhaustion was cruel and she could only push herself and her team so far before they collapsed.

With a heavy sigh of defeat she buried her face in her hands and felt like she was simply sitting there waiting for death to claim her.

But not only did she have the pressure of her own death looming over her, but with the threat of her own death beginning to catch up,the threat of death for everyone else came with it. Survival for everyone was on Skylar's shoulder. She was everyone's hero. Something she didn't want to be, something she never wanted to be.

"It's all too much..." She sighed to herself as she slowly sunk back down onto the bed and laid her head down on her pillow as if she was beginning to give up.

She stared up at the ceiling and chewed her bottom lip. It was only then that she remembered that the Spymaster was desperate to talk to her. It was only because she could hear that Orlesian accent. Her voice was growing louder and louder and more venomous with each passing second. Each word that was said was sharp and was formed with the purpose to piecing the hearer's ears.

Leliana was beyond furious.

Skylar winced and had the sudden overwhelming urge to jump out the nearest window and run so she didn't have to endure the lecture that was yet to come. Why was this phoenix haired women so angry!?

The only explanation that Skylar could come up with for the reason for Leliana's anger was what was said yesterday during their fallout. Was Leliana still angry about that? Was the decision not to kill a man that serious for her?

No...

It had to be something more.

She couldn't make out exactly what they were saying but it was something more than just what was said the night before.

Skylar's ears picked up at her own name being mentioned so many times that she quite literally lost count as to how often it was mentioned. In fact at some point she even stopped trying to make out what they were saying. The thick wooden door that stood between them was so thick that it muffled their voices. So despite the increasing volume and the sting of each word it was no use.

"They have been at it for hours it seems." A low chuckle caught Skylar's attention.

She turned her head to find that Solus was awake and watching her with a careful eye. He leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees as an amused look suddenly invaded his face. "I believe worry is the cause of the feud." He said with a smirk. "Worry for you, Herold." He said with a shrug.

Skylar remained quiet for a minute as she processed what the Elf had said. "Worry for me..?" She muttered mostly to herself. "And explain to me why they are suddenly all so worried? I mean they all threw me out into the field without so much as a second thought and only now they start to worry? Forgive me if I lack the enthusiasm." She gave a soft chuckle as she sat up once more.

She eyed the mage up and down in search of any injury when she didn't find anything she gave a small sigh of relief.

Solus caught onto what she was doing and smiled slightly. "I am grateful for the concern but I am fine, I barely received a bruise." He admitted as he motioned to himself. "Advantage to being a a creature that possesses magic, I have the ability to attack at great distances or shield myself with a layer of magic. Rarely do I need to worry about any physical damage." He said with a proud look on his face. "My mind is the best weapon and protection I have."

"That is quite the tool you have there." Skylar said with a low giggle as she looked down at herself again before she looked up at Solus with a questionable look in her eye. "Do you know why Leliana is so..." Was there even a word for what the Orlesian was at the moment? She was so beyond angry that it was unexplainable to Skylar.

"To tell you the truth..." Solus began as he rubbed his chin. "I have no answers for you. I am just as confused as everyone else. She is out of control right now. Verric believes she is experiencing something all females go through during a certain time of month but... I don't know. I think there is something more there. She keeps going on about you though." The mage tilted his head but not once did his eyes leave the Herald. "That is all she has talked about from the moment we returned from our mission. And when she was told about how you fainted... Well that is when she really began to lose it." He glanced towards the door for a second as if he was expecting the redhead to barge in at any given moment. "The only answer I have for you is some simple advice that you might already be thinking about... Perhaps it would be wise to try to avoid the Spymaster for the time being... I hear she has the ability to end your life before you even realize you have a knife at your throat." Solus stood and stretched his arms over his head.

"Oh that is very comforting... Knowing that I might be our Spymaster's next target." Skylar's voice had a hint of amusement entwined with her words, however her face wore the look of someone who might just be a little bit nervous. Skylar didn't even realized that she was wringing her hands until she looked down. She swallowed a bit and glanced towards the door. "How... How angry is she?" Skylar didn't want to admit it but knowing that the Redhead was this angry and it was directed at her didn't sit very well with her. In fact she suddenly had a twisting feeling in the pit of her stomach, a feeling that she really could do without at the moment.

There was a quiet sharp intake of breath from Solus's side of the room before he scratched the top of his head and cleared his throat. "Well... No one else will come to this side of the Chantry in fear of enduring the wrath of Leliana. She seems to have scared almost every Chantry member and not only that, she has even her got own agents on their toes. No one has seen Leliana like this before... So to answer your question... It is safe to say that saying she is furious is an understatement." Solus reached over for his staff and used it like a walking stick as he looked down at Skylar who was still sitting up in her bed.

The voices from the other side of the door were so loud now that every word was as clear as crystal. "Well... I think you should take advantage of this time and get some rest while you can, somehow I believe that it will be hard to find time to rest your head in the upcoming days." Solus made his way towards the door with a smirk on his face. "Now, if you don't mind I am going to put an end to this nonsense."

Skylar watched in curiosity as Solus lifted his staff high in the air before he brought the butt of it down onto the stone floor. The instant the staff made contact the door to Skylar's room burst open with the sound of an explosion. But no explosion was seen. Instead Skylar covered her ears in an attempt to block out the sound.

"ENOUGH!" Solus boomed as Leliana, Cassandra, and Cullen all jumped with wide eyes. All three had their hands on their weapons expecting an attacker. But instead when they all laid eyes on a very unimpressed looking mage they shook their heads and sighed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Cassandra barked.

"What is the meaning of THIS!?" Solus barked right back as he motioned to the three people who had been arguing for only Maker knows how long. "You three have been so entranced with your fighting you didn't even realize that your poor location to hold this fallout is preventing the one person who you all are squabbling about!" Solus pointed into the room at Skylar who was still sitting up in bed looking like she was about to spring up and pull her disappearing act to avoid the attention of everyone looking at her. "I suggest all of you take this somewhere else, Skylar needs rest and-" Solus shut the door behind him blocking any sound from making it's way into the room.

Skylar was grateful for the barrier but she knew it was only temporary. It was only a matter of time before someone came in to check up on her. Now that they all knew that she was awake she expected that people were going to get right back to business and a certain someone had a promise that she was going to keep.

Skylar laid on her bed for what seemed like hours to her. Sleep evaded her now that everything was dead quiet. She was no longer used to the silence. She was used to hearing the voices of the people or the clanging of weapons or even the distance yelling of a dispute. Even not hearing the arguing from the other side of her door was something that seemed almost Alien to her. "Maybe if I am lucky... I might pass out again..." The Herold groaned as she sat up. "Maybe if I hit my head hard enough..." She muttered to herself as she moved herself to the edge of her bed before she slowly and shakily stood up.

Her body ached in protest with each movement, her muscles were begging her to go back to bed and lay down long enough for her to recover from the abuse she endured. It was the first time she tried standing up on her own after she had returned from her mission. Even Cassandra had to help her walk before she passed out. Now that she was standing on her own she found herself a little wobbly but she sighed in relief when she didn't fall flat on her face.

The cold stone floor was like ice against the bottoms of her bare feet as she made her way across the room to the arm chair that Solus had been sitting in when she woke up. It was there she sat down with a sigh. She looked out the window and down at Haven below. The snow was still falling even as the moon was high up in the night sky.

If she was planning on running Skylar realized that the perfect time would be right then and there. She could slip out the window and no one would know she was gone until morning. And by then she would be too far away for them to catch up with her.

But Skylar didn't move.

She didn't leave.

She didn't run.

She didn't pursue her freedom that she longed for so badly that it hurt.

Instead she just sat there and waited for her next order.

"I'm like a loyal dog." She muttered with a sigh as she slouched in her spot.

Skylar wanted to leave and use what little time she had left in that world for herself. But the feeling of knowing that so many people were depending on her was like a tight collar around her neck and the Inquisition was the leash that was growing shorter with every passing day.

She didn't even move a single inch when she heard the sound of the door opening and closing. There was only one person who was planning on coming to see her and Skylar didn't have to guess that they thought that moment would be the perfect time.

"And you must have thought that I was going to run away." Skylar's voice was low and full of disinterest as her eyes continued to gaze out the window as if the outside world was far more interesting then what was going on in her own room. She knew it was the Spymaster, who else would be as silent as air coming down the hall?

From the corner of the Herald's eye she could already see the redhead starting to fume, the sight was almost amusing to Skylar. It was amazing how anyone could say the simplest of things right now and Leliana's face would quite literally turn a shade of red from the obvious fury pulsing through her veins.

The Herald didn't turn her head but kept her eye on the Spymaster, somehow she didn't trust the redhead. Skylar glanced at her hands and saw that they were both clenched into very tight fists, she looked towards her feet and saw that Leliana looked like she was resisting the urge to lunge towards Skylar. Looking back up to her face Skylar was that her eyes were betraying every physical message she was giving off. In the end Skylar only found herself even more confused than she had been minutes before.

"Do you not realize what has happened?" Leliana's voice was low as she stepped further into the room. She didn't advance towards Skylar, instead she made her way over to the window Skylar was looking out of and gazed out of it as well. "Do you not realize what would have happened if you had died in The Fallow Mire?" The Spymaster asked with her hands flat on the windowsill. She was searching for answers, she needed to know that her Herald understood the consequences of her actions. She acted like she did a day ago but now Leliana was not too sure. And nor was Leliana even certain that she, herself truly understood the reasoning behind her own fury.

Skylar remained quiet as she sat up in her chair. She rested her arms on the arm rests and just watched Leliana. She didn't know what to expect. Perhaps a lecture? Perhaps a slap on the wrist? But for what exactly? For doing her job? Could Leliana truly punish Skylar for doing what she was told?

"I didn't have a choice, Leliana. What was I supposed to do? Let our soldiers die there?" Skylar's voice was an exhausted sigh as she sat up, her feet barely reaching the floor, even Solus was able to reach the floor in this chair... Well now Skylar understood why Varric liked having Skylar around so much. Skylar Probably made him feel like he was a big for a Dwarf.

Leliana turned around and leaned her back against the windowsill and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at the smaller girl disapprovingly. "I expect you to be more careful, to think, to plan, to talk with every single one of us for our input on these missions! To realize that your death could equal the death of thousands! No Millions!" She hissed with narrowed eyes. "The death of our world as we know it! Do you not understand that? Do you not understand anything!?" Once again Leliana didn't even realize that her voice was beginning to increase in volume.

The Herald leaned forward in her chair with closed eyes as she began to rub her temples, she could already feel the headache returning."And you don't think I already know that?" Skylar's words were venomous as she spat them at Leliana. "I already have the weight of this damned world weighing down on my shoulders! I don't need some Spymaster cracking her whip at me every time I make a decision!" She yelled as she slammed her marked hand down onto her arm rest, a move she instantly regretted.

Within an instant the feeling of a thousand red hot needles piecing her flesh jolted through her hand. Skylar hissed and almost instantly pulled her hand away from the arm rest and favored it in her other in front of her chest. Her brows were furrowed and she held her breath for a moment to keep herself from cursing.

It was only after she exhaled did she look back up at Leliana with a tired look on her face. "I really don't need your lecture right now, Leliana, please, just go and do your work and let me rest because as soon as I am fit I will be thrown back out there to do what I have been doing since the moment you people dragged me to this place." Skylar looked down at her marked hand to see a faint green glow. She could feel another Rift far off in the distance, one that she would need to go close soon. It was calling her, beckoning her to come closer.

When she looked up again Skylar found that Leliana did not leave, in fact the next time Skylar laid eyes on her she was kneeling down in front of where Skylar was sitting and reaching forward to take Skylar's marked hand into both of her own.

The urge to instantly pull away from her gentle touch was overwhelming but Skylar resisted. No one dared to come this close to Skylar, for reasons unknown. The only people who had been this close had been Cassandra, Verric, or Solus and that was usually to help her out in the field or when Cassandra helped her walk or when Solus helped her heal. But this, this was something Skylar never expected from any of these people.

Instead of pulling away Skylar simply watched as Leliana examined, or more specifically, Admire her mark.

The redhead ran her fingers over the faint green glow but quickly pulled away with she saw Skylar's fingers almost instantly twitch in reaction to her touch. If it was unpleasant, she didn't know because Skylar didn't say a word. She simply watched.

The Herold's eyes were searching the expression that was on Leliana's face. How her brows were furrowed, and her lips were curled into a small frown, even her eyes narrowed slightly, how she was looking at the mark with a look that said she didn't want it to be there, and not only that, but with the Herald's hand still in her own Skylar could feel pleasant tingles caused by one of Leliana's thumbs ever so gently being ran back and forth over the back of her hand, as if she was trying to calm an animal who was caught in a snare.

"I think..." Leliana began with a small sigh as she continued to stare at the mark with unblinking eyes. "I think I am the one who has yet to understand... Any of this." She looked up at Skylar. She looked so lost and hopeful. It was like she was looking at Skylar as if Skylar held all the answers. As if Skylar really was the Herald of Andraste, as if she really was this Hero everyone thought she was.

There was a pang of guilt inside Skylar. She was not, nor did she want to be what Leliana was hoping she was, what everyone was hoping for.

Leliana could literally sense what Skylar was feeling so she sat back slightly and finally released her hand to rest her own on her lap. "Skylar." The Spymaster began.

"Don't." Skylar shook her head. "Don't say it. I am not some hero and I was not sent here by Andraste to save the world. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that is how this thing." She waved her marked hand at Leliana. "Supposedly chose me. This is nothing more than bad luck."

Leliana bit her bottom lip. "You're still haven't come to terms with what happened... Have you?" She asked with raised brows. The look she was giving Skylar was a worried one and for reasons unknown that look almost scared the Herald.

The truth was that Leliana, herself was still trying to come to terms with everything too. But on top of everything...

"I feel like we are simply sending you to your death every single time we let you walk out those doors to shut those rifts." Leliana hung her head in shame. "This is... Not about you keeping everyone alive, I am talking about you and you alone. We shouldn't be making you do half of the things we are sending you to do, recruiting people, shutting rifts, walking through battlefields ripe with war. These are things that you shouldn't have any part of and yet..." She paused. "There you are... We are killing you and I can't forgive myself for that." Leliana finally said it. "It will be because of us, because of me, why you die."

Skylar's brows furrowed and she sat up straight. This was something she thought about so often. Something that she complained about and something that she loathed these people for. It made her so angry. She literally did feel like these people were stealing away her time. Skylar felt like if she truly was going to die soon that these people were taking the time she had left... But now that Leliana was kneeling there in front of her looking like she was basically begging for forgiveness, any anger towards her was extinguished and replaced with guilt and shame. Skylar realized that maybe making Skylar do all these things really was not something they wanted her to do in the first place...

"Don't talk like that." The Herald commanded gently. "If I die it is because it is my time." She said with a shrug.

Leliana looked up with brows furrowed. It was completely plain to see that Skylar still had not come to terms with this, she was taking it too easy.

"It won't be because of you." The look on Skylar's face was firm but it also had an exhausted element to it.

What happened next completely shocked Skylar. It was something she would have never expected Leliana to do, not in a million years.

The redhead reached up and pulled down her hood without a word and laid her head down on Skylar's lap from where she was kneeling on the ground. It was as if she was trying to beg for forgiveness, but in a way where no words were needed. Leliana feared that if she spoke another word she would be the one to break down crying. That was something she didn't want to do in front of the Herald of Andraste...

Not knowing what to do, opening and closing her mouth a few times but finding no words she finally just sighed and placed her hand on Leliana's head and moved her hair out of her eyes. "It's ok." She murmured before she looked back out the window at the falling snow.

"No it's not ok." Leliana's voice was just a whisper. "You don't have to do any of this alone, like you have been doing from the start." She paused. "I can help... But you have to let me..."

Skylar didn't say anything else. She remained quiet after that, even as Leliana raised her head to look at her with deep concern. "Skylar?" She tried.

But then both of them jumped as yelling from the outside echoed through the Chantry.


	4. Chaos

**So first of all I really do need to apologize again. I really do need to get into the habit of editing my chapters before I post them. X3 It is such a bad habit of mine...**

**When I post the chapter I usually read it right off of the site and it is reading it while it is in that form where I catch my mistakes. I don't know why but for the life of me I literally can't catch them while they are in the editing window. **

**So sorry guys!**

**And second... It has been brought to my attention that I have been spelling 'Herald' wrong this whole time! XD I WILL GET RIGHT ON FIXING THAT!**

**THANK YOU FOR TELLING MEEEE!**

**X3**

**Please enjoy the next chapter and let me know what you think!**

**A huge thank you to those who are reading and reviewing! I love your input and I really do appreciate it when someone comes to me to let me know about certain errors here and there. It helps me become a better writer!**

"ARM YOURSELVES MEN!" Cullen screamed as he pulled his sword from it's sheath as he rushed forward. The man nearly stumbled and fell as he rushed through the Chantry. He had hoped that his ears were deceiving him when one of his soldiers came rushing to him in the dead of night speaking of Bandits pouring in from the hills! They came out of nowhere! It was completely unexpected!

Solus was right behind him and was instantly ready to defend their village, along with Cassandra and Verric; who was basically stumbling with how hard he was trying to keep up. He had been in a dead sleep when he got the news, even the Dwarf wore the look of horror on his face. Bandits were NEVER good. They always brought blood, murder, fear, terror and chaos. Everything they could do with less of.

"What's going on!?" Leliana cried after she rushed down the hall, leaving Skylar where she was. Despite Skylar trying to convince Leliana to let her come with her Leliana demanded that Skylar stayed in her room where it was safe. She didn't think the Herald would get very far anyways... The smaller girl was so exhausted and sore that she could barely stand on her own, let alone rush into battle. No, Skylar had to stay where she was not in danger so she could heal.

"Bandits!" Cullen yelled over his shoulder. "Grab your bow and get out here and help! They are everywhere! They are targeting the villagers! I don't know how many we have lost so far! We have to hurry!" He cried as he nearly ran into one of his troops as he ran outside.

"Verric and I will hold off the front of the Village!" Cassandra barked. "You and Solus go to the middle!" She yelled at Cullen. "Leliana try to keep the front of the Chantry clear! The Chantry will be where the Villagers will run to for safety! We can't risk having hoards of bandits running in here! They get in here we have lost!" With that said Cassandra and the others rushed out of the Chantry and into the battle outside.

"Maker..." Leliana whispered as a group of Villagers ran into the Chantry. A man had a little boy in his arms who was covered in blood. There were many injured but so far she didn't see any dead... Or at least she hoped she didn't... Many people were carrying or helping others into the Chantry. Some were children. Her stomach twisted at the thought of a child dying at the hands of a bandit...

It was painfully obvious that they were not ready for a bandit raid. In fact no one would have expected that bandits would come all the way to Haven. Haven was far away from any other location. So when a huge group of bandits showed up on foot everyone was taken by surprise.

Leliana ran to her own quarters and grabbed her bow and arrows before she ran outside into the Chaos, hoping and praying that Skylar stayed where she was. That girl was nowhere near ready to take on a bandit! "Please just do as you're told..." Leliana muttered under her breath as the bitter cold of the outside nearly froze her as soon as she left the warmth of the Chantry.

She was not surprised to find that with all the chaos it was still snowing. All around her the white snow on the ground was stained red. She had to give her head a shake to rid herself of the horror. She couldn't be scared now, she HAD to fight. She had to defend, she had to protect! She couldn't let those Damn bandits into the chantry! That was where the Villagers were going... That was where Skylar was.

She ran to the top of the stairs and looked around in search of the enemy, it didn't take long for her to find her first target. A large man with an axe in his hand. He was towering over a woman who was trying to crawl away from him. From the look on his face Leliana could tell that if he had it his way she was not about to go anywhere. However... Leliana had a different idea in mind for him.

With one swift movement she pulled an arrow from her sheath and aimed it directly at the man's head. The Bandit didn't even have time to yell out in pain as the arrow embedded itself directly into his skull before his body went limp and lifeless and crumbled to the snow covered ground.

Loading up another arrow Leliana realized that the entire village was over-run with them. It was like watching ants crawl all over an apple that had a bite taken out of it. An infestation. "Maker..." She breathed. The sound of screaming, terrorized, hurting villagers found her ears. She had to resist the urge to bring her hands to her head in an attempt to block out the sound. The screaming was all around her. It made her feel nauseous.

Without thinking the Spymaster began firing arrow after arrow at every bandit that she saw. They all seemed to have the same idea in mind. They must have been thinking that Haven was a weak village and not ready for any kind of attack! After everything that was going on with the Breech, in a way they were correct and smart to attack at this time. But in another way they were stupid. Haven may not have been suspecting any kind of attack but Haven was also armed to it's teeth with Soldiers, Agents, a Spymaster, ex-Templars, Rogues, and so many other people who banded together to fight against the demons that were constantly pouring out of the breech.

So while the Bandits were able to make a few people fall, they themselves began to drop like flies as the people of Haven defended themselves like they had been doing for weeks now.

"DON'T LET THEM RETREAT!" Leliana cried. "IF THEY RETREAT THEY WILL EVENTUALLY RETURN WITH MORE! LET US NOT TAKE THAT RISK!" Her words were powerful as every Soldier took up arms and defended their little village.

The Bandits may have thought they could take the village by surprise but in return they too were surprised to find that every soldier was well trained and armed to the teeth! Cullen and Cassandra were good teachers. They made sure to train as many villagers as they could. Cullen had thought it was a stupid idea, but in the back of Cassandra's mind she always had the fear of something like a bandit attack. It seems that her fears were correct and so in a way they were ready for this.

With another arrow about to slip from her fingers and find it's way into another Bandit's skull Leliana yelped as a fist connected to the back of her head.

"Silence, Wench!" A man's voice growled.

Leliana's vision was blurry. She was on the ground. She was so dizzy. How could she let this happen? She could have been watching all around her! Not just what was in front... She made a mistake... And it looked like it might just be her last.

The Bandit began to laugh as he lifted his boot and kicked Leliana in the side of her head when she attempted to jump to her feet.

She was knocked onto her back and her bow was kicked away from her hand and down the stone steps.

"I won't let you ruin this for us, we worked too damn, bleedin hard for us to lose now! We traveled so far for this! We bloody camped in freezing snow! We ran out of food days ago and now this will be our Village by morning!" He hissed as he stood over the Spymaster. "It is either us or you who are going to die! You might have the upper hand right now... But I promise you the tides will turn as soon as you are dealt with. No more picking off my men like they are flies..." The bandit went quiet and looked up with a sick grin on his face, but very quickly his grin was gone when he realized that while he was trying to take out the Spymaster his own men were almost completely wiped out.

"You were stupid and arrogant to attack us." Leliana struggled. "We will never lose to Bandits. We are well organized and very well trained, you will never make it out of my village alive... My friends won't let that happen. We won't let you bastards hurt anyone else!" She looked up at him before she quickly reached into her belt for a small concealed dagger.

But that was exactly what the bandit was expecting her to do.

His large boot came down and kicked her directly in the abdomen and then in the side, and then in the side of the head again.

Blood, she could taste it. It was like her mouth was full of thin, warm, melted metal. It spilled out between her lips and ran down her chin. She couldn't stop herself from coughing. The snow near her face turning red with every cough.

She turned herself onto her stomach in an attempt to crawl away to put as much distance between her and him as she could, but of course like he had done so many times already his boot connected with her and threw her right back onto her back. From there she coughed again with her eyes screwed tightly shut.

She couldn't think. Her head was spinning. The only thing she was sure of was that this man was here to hurt her, this man was going to make her hurt as much as he could before he let her die. He was going to make her beg for death. Leliana opened her eyes and looked up at the sky, but all she could see was the snow falling.

But there was more impact, to her rips, and then to her head, and then to her abdomen again. This man was going to make sure that Leliana was not going to see the light of the morning. If he was going to die he was going to take the Spymaster down with him.

She groaned as the Bandit began to circle around her like a wolf circling it's prey. That sick grin was back on his face and for the first time in a very long time Leliana found herself completely mortified for what was about to happen next.

"Yeah... You are mine now." He laughed as he ungracefully bent down and grabbed Leliana by the back of her collar. He dragged her away from the battle and into the trees, away from anyone who might hear her or see. "Don't want any of your bleedin friends interrupting my fun now do we?" He threw her against a tree before he gave her one good punch to the side of the head.

Her legs crumbled under her and she slid down to the ground where she sat with her back against tree's trunk. It was getting so hard to keep her eyes open now. She was hurting everywhere. Her head, her chest, her stomach. She didn't know where she was hurting the most... She was pretty sure her ribs were broken and with the amount of blood she was coughing up she was certain her lung was punctured. She was going to die here, like this, at the mercy of a filthy bandit... She began to shake in complete terror when she realized what exactly he was going to do next. A tiny whimper escaped her lips as she closed her eyes tightly. She didn't want to watch. Why couldn't he have just killed her first? Was there no mercy? Was the Maker really going to let this happen to her!? Leliana didn't even have the strength to lift her own arms up. They were limp and at her sides. she was completely defenseless, scared, and hurt. All the poor woman could do was screw her eyes shut and pray.

"If I am going to die here tonight..." He trailed off. "I want to die happy." His voice was a very low and dark chuckle as his hands began to undo his belt as he took a step closer to Leliana.

**WOOPS! I ran out of time for this chapter! Sorry guys! I will update as soon as I can! **

**R&R and lemme know what you think...**

**Poor Leliana...**

**Rating may go up!**


	5. I am not a hero!

"Bloody making me follow orders... Who does she think she is!?" Skylar kicked at the ground with her boot. She had been ordered not to leave that room until Leliana or one of the other's came back to check on her.

Somehow the Herold found the strength to pace and and forth angrily. It was most likely the adrenaline coursing through her veins that kept her from crumbling to the ground, and maybe the three health potions that she downed to try and get herself to heal faster was also playing a part in her restlessness. She needed to be out there too! Skylar hated being locked up in the Chantry doing nothing.

The Herald didn't think that it was fair to be expected to follow an order like a simple dog! Literally!

"Stay here in this room and do not leave or answer that door for any reason." Skylar recited the last thing Leliana told her before the Spymaster rushed off into battle. Skylar made Leliana's accent sound terrible "I really shouldn't try to mimic people..." Skylar muttered. "I make myself look completely insane." She said with a small huff. "And I make myself look even worse when I talk to myself..."

Skylar stood in the middle of the room with her arms crossed over her chest. She closed her eyes and took a breath in an attempt to calm herself. She could hear the battle raging on from her open window.

Part of Skylar felt like she should be happy that she was not out there fighting! There was a less of a chance she would die... And that was what she wanted... Wasn't it? To not die? To be safe and sound? To not have her life slip away at the hand of some miserable bandit?

Skylar lowered her chin to her chest as she chewed on her bottom lip. "I know what I want..." She muttered to herself. "I am not a hero, I don't want to be a hero... I am not a Herold and people shouldn't look to me to be their saviour because that is not what I am." She voice was a low grumble.

She did not know who she was talking to... Who was she trying to convince?

Her eyes opened slightly.

"They don't need me..." She whispered. "They don't."

The screams of terror echoed all throughout the village. Her ears were going to be forever stained after the battle was all over.

"Maybe... They could use my help anyways...?" Skylar opened her eyes completely and rushed over to her daggers. As soon as she picked them up her mark prickled in protest. Skylar used that pain to fuel her directive. And that was to help get those bandits out of the Village. She may not be a hero but she was still living in that village at the moment so she needed to defend it too!

Skylar's face held the look of determination. She rushed passed all the villagers who were taking refuge in the Chantry, ignoring the murmurs of how everyone believed the 'Herald of Andraste' was going go save them.

The small girl burst through the Chantry doors with her blades in her hands and almost instantly she was met head on by two bandits who tried to rush straight for the Chantry.

With a cry of surprise Skylar ungracefully lifted her blades and drove them into the chest of a bandit who ran directly into her.

He was dead as soon as the blades found his heart. But the weight of his body caused Skylar to fall backwards with his on top of her own.

"Get... Off...!" Skylar struggled as she pushed the bandit's lifeless body off her own, freeing both of her blades in time for her to defend herself from the bandit's friend.

"You will pay for that!" The bandit screamed as he charged at Skylar with his sword high in the air.

Skylar was on her back and still on the ground so she did the first thing that came to her mind.

She lifted her leg just in time and kicked the man directly between the legs before she rolled to her feet. The Bandit's hands were over his crotch within an instant as his weapon clattered to the ground. He screamed out in pain and glared at Skylar. "That is the worst thing you can do to a human!" He hissed through his teeth.

"No, there are far worst things that can be done than simply a kick between the legs." Skylar shook her head and lifted her blades. "If you can't handle a someone kicking you there stay off the battlefield!" She commanded before Skylar used both of her blades to decapitate him.

"There! That wasn't so hard!" Skylar grinned in pride as she looked at her two kills. They may technically be nothing more than lucky kills but she was not complaining. She just prevented two bandits from making their way into the Chantry where lots of wounded villagers had taken refuge. If any ONE bandit made it into the Chantry it would be like sicking a hungry dog on already bleeding cats.

Skylar couldn't lie, her battle skills were that of someone who was just learning, she only had what she learned these past few weeks, only because Cassandra threw the Herald straight into training as soon as she could. Every single day Cassandra made sure that Skylar went to bed extremely tired and sore. It was that reason alone that Skylar was still alive. She would have been dead weeks ago if it had not been for Cassandra's harsh lessons in combat.

The Herald yelped in surprise as an arrow narrowly missed her head and smacked directly into stone wall that was a little ways away from her.

She whipped her head around. It didn't take her more than a second to find a Bandit who was standing on top of a room slowly picking people off with his bow, and by the looks of things Skylar was his next target.

She dove behind a wooden crate and it was there she realized that she had to get rid of that bandit. He was going to keep picking people off until he was dead. The less dead villagers the better.

She peeked her head over the crate to see if he was still after her. When she saw that his bow was still aimed in her direction she ducked down once more. "Crap." She sighed as she whacked the back of her head against the crate. All Skylar had with her was her daggers. She had no range attacks that she could use.

Just out of yet another stroke of luck, as Skylar was looking around with her heart pounding in her chest her eyes landed on a bow that must have fallen down the stone stairs.

Skylar held her breath and covered her head as she dove for the stairs.

As her body tumbled down the bandit fired arrow after arrow as fast as he could. But Skylar was tumbling far too fast for him to catch her.

She landed on her back once she reached the bottom. She groaned but quickly reached for the bow just as an arrow embedded itself in the ground right beside her head.

She reached for that arrow and jumped to her feet and loaded the bow up. Not even a second later the arrow whistled through the air and hit the bandit right in the thigh. She heard him scream in agony as he slipped fell off the roof and onto the ground below. Skylar and if it had not been for the battle that was raging on around her Skylar could have sworn that she heard the man's neck snap when he hit the ground. She didn't hear him screaming anymore so she assumed that is what happened.

She smiled triumphantly and looked down at the bow. How did it get there?

But then her smile was gone.

She know who this bow belonged to.

It was Leliana's!

The Herald looked around.

She found Verric, Cullen, Cassandra, Solas.. But where was the Spymaster...?

"Lel?" Skylar called, instantly feeling stupid. How could anyone hear her over the battle? Skylar continued to look around. Her heart began to pound like a drum in her chest, her hands began to sweat, the world around her felt like it was slowing down, her head was spinning, she gripped the bow so tightly that her marked hand that jolts of agony ran up her arm, her hand felt like it was on fire. Where was Leliana? Why was Skylar feeling the way she was feeling? She felt like there was something very wrong?

Something was very wrong!

Leliana was without her bow!

Through the weeks that Skylar had known Leliana she had never seen the Spymaster without her bow before. That was something she always had with her. And if she didn't have it with her it was kept in a safe place. The redhead would never leave it simply laying around at the bottom of a flight of stairs in the middle of a battle!

Looking at the bow Skylar could see traces of blood.

But she couldn't tell if it was an enemy's blood or if it was Leliana's.

The feeling deep within Skylar told her that it belonged to the person she hoped it didn't.

The small girl spun around on her heel in search of any sign of the Spymaster. She was not anywhere to be see... No body... No nothing.

Skylar made her way back up the steps as her head continued to spin"Leliana?" Skylar called again. But once more her voice was drowned out by the sounds of the battle that was around her. It was a miracle that no bandit too notice of her simply walking through the snow.

Something was so very wrong.

Skylar's eyes screwed shut and she raised her hand to shield her face as the wind began to pick up. The snow felt like tiny blades whipping the skin of her face as her hood was blown clean off her head. The wind was so strong that it took her breath away and she coughed a few times before she could remember that she had to inhale.

Slowly did she open her eye after the wind died down slightly, and it was then that Skylar took notice of a trail of blood leading into a thick batch of trees. It looked as though someone had been dragged.

Skylar hoped that it was just someone trying to drag someone to safety but her gut told her that this world was far too cruel to allow such kindness. Something was wrong, someone was hurt, and something was still very, very wrong.

The Herald stood at the beginning of the trail and bit her lip as she looked down. There were blood splatters everywhere. It looked like someone was beaten to death. She inhaled a shaky breath and began to follow the trail into the trees.

She didn't even know that she was squeezing Leliana's bow again. Even the pain of her marked hand wasn't getting her attention. All she could focus on was that little trail of blood that was leading her deeper and deeper into the trees.

The snow began to fall even more and the wind was blowing harder. It was getting hard to breath but Still Skylar pressed on. She needed to find the end of the trail. She needed to put that horrible feeling that was in the pit of her gut to rest.

But then she heard the tiniest whimper she ever heard in the near distance.

Skylar was running now.

Something was wrong.

Very, so very wrong.

She found the end of the trail and when she did her heart nearly stopped dead in her chest when her eyes found a very broken and bleeding Leliana that was sitting with her back against a tree and standing over her was a man struggling to desperately undo his belt. Another tiny whimper escaped the lips of the barely conscious Spymaster. The bandit raised his head from his belt to look at her before he raised his boot to kick her in the side of the head, making her fall flat against the ground. "Shut up you wench!" He hissed.

Fury suddenly was pulsing through Skylar's veins. HOW DARE THIS MAN! Skylar knew exactly what he had in store for Leliana, and it was something Skylar was not going to allow to happen, not as long as she was alive to stop it.

It felt like the world around her slowed down.

Leliana's bow slipped from her hands and she sprinted as fast and as hard as she could at the Bandit. The man was much larger than Skylar but that didn't stop the Herald from using all of the strength she had in her smaller body to tackle the bandit to the ground with a furious scream.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Skylar's voice echoed through the trees as both the Bandit and Skylar went sprawling onto the snow covered ground.

The bandit was taken by surprise as his body hit the ground.

Skylar rolled away and was on her feet once again within a second.

She reached for her daggers only to find that they were gone. Her eyes went wide in realization. When she went tumbling down the stone steps she must have let go of her daggers to grab the bow!

The only other weapon she had with her was a small blade that was on the back of her belt.

But she didn't get the change to grab it.

The bandit was back up on his own feet and he was charging at her. He tackled Skylar right back and both of them went sprawling right back onto the forest floor. "I don't like interruptions!" He yelled as his fist collided with the side of her head.

Slightly dazed but still very conscious Skylar used the momentum from the man's fist to flip them over so she was on top. She used both of her own fists and began to punch him again and again. Sick cracks could be heard. She was positive that she broke the Bandit's nose... But she was also certain she may have broken her own hand. She clenched her teeth to suppress a cry of pain as she continued to punch him again and again. She couldn't let him get the upper hand. If he did all was over. She would most likely be killed and then he would have his way with Leliana!

Without even realize that his arm was free Skylar suffered again when the back of his hand met her face.

She flew off him from the impact and rolled along the ground before she came to a stop in the snow. Blood was in her mouth. She spit to the side and shook her head.

Dizzy.

Skylar was so very dizzy.

But she was not about to give up.

Not by a long shot.

She was on her feet before the bandit was.

He was distracted by the amount of blood that was coming out of his nose. "You... Bitch!" He cried with his eyes screwed shut.

Skylar took the opportunity to reach back and pull her small blade free from her belt. "I am going to kill you." She said with furious, narrowed eyes. "You don't deserve to live, what you did to her and what you were going to do is unforgivable!"

The bandit jumped to his feet and spat at Skylar. "This is not over!" He screamed before he took off running through the trees with his hand on his nose.

Skylar wanted to follow him. She knew that she could catch up to him within minutes, not only could she follow the trail of crimson he was leaving behind but she was obviously faster...

But then a whimper found her ears.

Skylar turned around and ran to Leliana's side.

She couldn't tell if the redhead was conscious or not. She dropped to her knees beside her and cupped the woman's face in her hands. "Leliana?" Skylar called with her brows drawn together. She didn't know what to do? Was she alive? The Spymaster's eyes remained shut as Skylar tried to call her name over and over again. But nothing. Not one sound. There was not even another whimper.

Fear.

Skylar began to shake once more as she pulled her now bloody hands away from Leliana's face.

Her own body was hurting now that she was no longer fighting. But she shoved her own pain to the back of her mind. Until Leliana was safe her own body could wait. Even if she may have shattered every bone in her hand...

Remembering how the bandit had kicked Leliana right in the head made her stomach twist. In fact the entire situation had Skylar feeling nauseous, angry, worried and so many other extreme emotions that she was having problems controlling at the moment. She wanted to so badly track the man down and gut him alive. But Leliana needed her more. She needed help and fast.

Skylar sat up and looked around... She could run back to the Chantry and grab someone. No. Skylar was not going to leave her alone, not with all the bandits running about.

"Um..." Skylar hummed as she leaned forward and and brought her ear close to Leliana's mouth. Closing her eye and holding her own breath she listened. She was still breathing. That was a good sign! But the snow was falling harder now and the temperature was dropping, if she didn't get Leliana back to the Chantry soon she was going to freeze to death before anyone had a actual chance to help her!

So Skylar did the best thing that came to her mind.

"I am so sorry..." She whispered. The last thing she wanted to do was cause Leliana more pain but there was no other option.

She positioned herself so that one of her arms was under Leliana's legs and her other against her back. She could hear soft groans of pain from the Redhead's lips as she lifted Leliana off the ground and into her arms.

"Oh!" Skylar yelped. Her arms, back, and even the muscles in her legs were all screaming with pain in protest of the added weight. Even her rips felt like they were shattered. But Skylar exhaled and began to press on.

One step at a time.

She started to move through the snow With Leliana's head against her shoulder.

Skylar forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She herself felt very drained. SHE HAD TO MAKE IT TO THE CHANTRY! SHE JUST HAD TO!

The Herald didn't know how long she had been walking for but her head was spinning and she could no longer feel her own legs. At some point it didn't even feel like she was connected to her own body anymore. She was indeed still walking but it felt like she was not the one in control of her own body. That was how numb her legs were. It was so cold and she could barely see with all the snow.

Finally when Skylar thought she was never going to make it she finally emerged through the trees with the Spymaster still very unconscious in her arms. All was quiet in Haven now. The only thing that could be heard was the howl of the wind. Skylar assumed that everyone had taken refuge in the Chantry after the battle. Or at least she hoped so... It didn't sound like any bandits were left but she there was no telling what truly happened while she was out in the trees.

Shaking from how cold she was she made her way towards the Chantry.

The only positive thing about being as cold as Skylar was at the moment was that she couldn't feel any of the injuries she had suffered. It was probably that reason alone that she made it.

Or almost made it...

Just as she finally reached the front doors to the Chantry she fell to her knees into the snow.

Her arms slowly gave out, forcing her to lower Leliana's body into the snow before she herself fell onto her side where her eyes closed. In her mind she was screaming to stay awake and to get that woman through those doors but her body had endured far too much now. She was completely drained. She had nothing left.

The last thing Skylar heard were the doors to the Chantry bursting open right before she fell into the black.

**Let me know what you guys think so far! I look forward to reading reviews!**

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	6. Bloody and Broken

**Sorry that it took a few more days than usual to get a chapter up! I found myself neck deep in Exams... Which I am pretty sure I failed miserably... **

**I DID HAVE THIS CHAPTER WRITTEN LIKE A DAY AGO! BUT WHEN I WENT BACK TO ADD A FEW THINGS I FOUND THAT MY FILE WAS COMPLETELY EMPTY! SO I had to completely restart it! **

**Welp I have learned that maybe it is a good idea to save chapters in more than one place than just on this site. I just had to rewrite this entire chapter from scratch. XD Oh the frustration and shock I had when I realized I lost over four thousand words... *sigh* Oh well. **

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The world was spinning around her as she tried to push frantic hands away. She could hear the voices telling her to calm down and that they were only trying to help her. But Leliana didn't care. She desperately called out for that small girl she saw charge in and attack the man who had been about to commit a horrific crime! That was it. That was all she could remember. Skylar charging in. Then everything went black.

What happened to Skylar?

Was she alright?

Did that bandit hurt her?

Did he go after her instead!?

If there was even so much as one mark on Skylar she was going to go after that man and make him beg for death.

But as Leliana tried to get up she was pushed back down onto a soft surface and once again was told to stay still.

The Spymaster called out again for the Herald but she never heard her voice.

She thrashed and she squirmed and she fought against those hand desperately trying to get free. She needed to go and find her!

Finally the redhead felt warm, gentle, and shaking hands against both sides of her head. For only a moment the world was cleared as warm magic went to work.

"Listen to me, Spymaster, you need to lay still for us to help you." The face was one that she didn't quit recognize, but that accent was much like her own. It was a woman. Her skin was darker and her voice was strong. "Lay down and rest. You will be better before you know it but you must trust me!" She demanded.

"I need to find Skylar before he hurts her." Leliana's words were slurred with her concussion.

"You may not to see the smaller girl." The woman shook her head with a brow furrowed. "The Elven mage is treating her as we speak, the poor thing isn't even conscious anyways, she wouldn't be much company." The woman had a sarcastic edge to her voice as she continued.

Hearing that made Leliana's hear leap in her chest.

Skylar really was hurt!

"What happened to her?" The Spymaster asked as the magic was beginning to wear off. She could feel herself slipping back into the spinning world that she had been stuck in only second before.

"Well, there was just a bandit raid on your little Village here so I believe she may have been attacked and suffered a few injuries of her own." The woman's voice began to sound as if they were talking in a cave. Her voice had an echo.

But Leliana was not left trapped in the spiraling world. Instead she felt a hand cover her eyes before more magic invaded her mind. She was dropped into the black of unconsciousness to give her body the time it needed to heal and the chance for the healers to do their work without being attacked.

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Nice, warm, and comfortable.

She didn't want to get up or even so much as move from the spot she was in. She was just so comfortable it felt like she was floating on the cloud of bliss.

The window of her room was open, allowing the gentle song of the birds to be heard. There was a warm breeze that flowed through into the room that smelled of pine needles, fireplace smoke, and stew brewing in the distance.

It was only after the memories of what happened before her head hit the ground did she suddenly sit up so fast that she didn't feel her body's injuries until it was too late.

How could someone go from feeling like they were floating on a cloud of complete bliss to a world of agony in under a second flat?

She couldn't even scream as what felt like her bones all snapping at once jolted through her. Her muscles were strained, her skin was black and blue and sitting up straight made her head feel like it was caught in a vice.

A small gasp was all that escaped Skylar's lips before she felt the gentle hands of someone slowly and very gently lower her back down onto the soft mattress of the bed.

Skylar's eyes were screwed shut as she shivered involuntarily, almost flinching when she felt a damp cloth being draped over her forehead and a soft "Shhhh..." was heard from beside her.

"You're ok now. Just rest." A Chantry sister murmured as she placed her hand on Skylar's shoulder in fear of the girl jolting up again. She rubbed gentle circled into her arm as if she was trying to calm a wounded animal. "Your body needs to rest as much as your mind does... Don't push yourself." Her voice was gentle as she reached for a cup. "Are you thirsty?" She asked with a brow raised.

The Herald's eyes were still closed as she shook her head, she was still waiting for all of the aches and pains to pass as she laid there as still as she could. "Is..." Her throat felt like she hadn't spoken in so long. "Is Leliana ok?" She finally managed to say as she cracked one eye open long enough to realize that the room was too bright for her at the moment.

"Leliana if just fine, she is still being cared for but she is going to heal, thanks to you, Herald of Andraste." The sister bowed her head after she withdrew her hand from the cup and clasped her hands in front of her as if she was worshiping Skylar.

Thankfully Skylar's eyes were closed so she didn't see what the woman was doing or she would have demanded her to stop. Being worshiped and thought of as a hero or a saviour was one thing Skylar didn't want.

"How is she...?" Skylar gently and eagerly pressed. She had the sudden urge to get up and go find the redhead. She needed to see her, somehow the Herald didn't believe the Chantry sister's words. She needed to see for herself. "Can I go see her?" Skylar finally opened her eyes and turned her head to the sister who was shaking her head.

"She needs her rest as do you." The sister's face was suddenly very serious as if she was demanding for Skylar not to even so much as think about getting up again.

Skylar had a distressed look on her face as she looked up towards the ceiling as she listened to the faint chirping of the birds outside.

"But..." The Chantry sister stood up and fixed her skirts before she looked at Skylar with her gentle eyes once more. "Leliana was asking about you while you were unconscious." Her voice was a gentle murmur and her eyes held the utmost respect and hope in them as she gazed upon the girl who was laying in the bed in front of her. "She was very scared." She explained. "Your name was on her lips and she kept trying to come and find you, she was almost out of control. We could understand that she was wanting to find you but we couldn't understand what else she was trying to say... Leliana has suffered a head injury as well as many broken bones and because of the herbs we gave her for the pain she can't seem to think straight at the moment... But she didn't stop asking for you." The Chantry sister suddenly wore a very worried and concerned look on her face. "What happened?" She asked.

Skylar opened her mouth and was about to tell this woman the horrifying story that took place the night before. But then the girl clamped her mouth shut. Was it really her place to tell of something so horrifying? Would Leliana want anyone else to know? Nothing happened besides the physical damage. It may have been a very close call... But Skylar decided that perhaps she would allow for Leliana to be the one to tell the others what happened because she herself was not too sure either, Skylar almost thought that she thought up the whole thing because of how many times she was hit in the head. She even jumped down a flight of stairs for crying out loud!

Until Skylar and Leliana spoke... Skylar honestly didn't know what to do...

She would leave it up to Leliana.

Somehow Skylar knew that it wouldn't be long now before Leliana somehow came to find her or the other way around.

"I'm..." Skylar raised her hand and rubbed her forehead. She didn't know what to think of the entire situation. Her head was pounding and quite honestly the only thing she could think about at that moment was the redhead's face when Skylar found her out in the trees with that horrible bandit standing over her with his hands on his belt desperately trying to expose himself. She needed Leliana to be here for her to really understand what happened. "I'm not too sure." Skylar sighed as she dropped her arm back on the bed and allowed her eyes to droop shut. "All I am sure about is that there was a bandit raid and I think I jumped down a flight of stairs... Which hurt a lot." Her voice was suddenly a low mumble as she spoke about how she flung her body down the stairs.

The Chantry sister almost snorted when she realized what she was hearing. "Herald... It might do you some good to avoid flinging one's body down a flight of stairs... I think that may explain the bulk of your injuries... You are completely blemished!" She hissed as she shook her head. "Be more careful next time!" Her voice raised slightly.

Skylar realized what she had said when it was too late. "I did it to... Never mind... I can't think." Skylar grumbled as she turned her head away. "I would rather throw myself down a flight of stairs than let a arrow embed in my skull." Skylar went quiet when she realized that her own words were not making any sense! She was only telling bits and pieces of what happened and by doing that she really wouldn't get far.

The Chantry sister's face was going from disapproving to angry to seriously worried in under a minute.

Finally Skylar just sighed. "I think I need to try and sleep." Her voice was low as she threw one of her arms over her eyes to prevent the light from assaulting her.

"Very well... When Leliana wakes I will tell her that you are doing well and have woken after throwing yourself down a flight of stairs!" The Chantry sister proclaimed before she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. But just before she left she looked over her shoulder and chuckled when she saw the horrified look on Skylar's face. "I will come and check on you a little later." And with that the Chantry sister was gone out the door.

"Tell the Spymaster that I flung myself down a flight of stairs and I will never hear the end of it!" Skylar exclaimed.

By the sound of things it sounded like Leliana was already worried and scared out of her mind! The Herald was certain that she didn't need to know about the fine little details that Skylar did during the battle!

Hours seemed to trickle by as Skylar fell in and out of sleep.

Eventually she wanted to so badly get up and walk around but of course as soon as the thought came to her mind was the same moment that Chantry sister walked into the room with a tray of food. "Dinner time!" The Chantry sister chirped.

"Not hungry..." Skylar grumbled, turning her head away.

The sheer thought of food made her stomach twist and turn.

She was so restless, all she wanted to do was go for a walk and find Leliana. She needed to see her. She needed to know that she was ok... Of course Skylar knew that she probably wasn't. She was probably traumatized after what happened.

All Skylar could do was lay there as the Chantry sister explained over and over again why she needed to stay in bed and how her body needed it's rest. Eventually Skylar somehow was able to tune out her voice and just close her eyes and see Leliana's broken and battered body that she had held in her arms before her strength gave out.

Finally she was left alone to watch the sun set outside from her spot on the bed. She was achy and tired but obviously healers must have come while she was asleep at some point and began to work on her. Skylar did remember them trying once but she only told them not to touch her until the Spymaster was taken care of. Leliana was the one who sustained the bulk of the injuries.

"I should have gotten her through those doors..." Skylar mumbled to herself with a heavy sigh as she closed her eyes, feeling like she had failed in some way. She was no hero, she didn't want to be a hero, but she didn't want people to be hurt or killed. She didn't want anyone to die. But just because she wanted it didn't mean that it wasn't going to happen.

Finally the sun was gone and she was left staring out into the night sky. She wanted to so badly get up and go find Leliana but then she sighed and shook her head. What was the use? Leliana probably wasn't even conscious anyways. She needed her rest and so Skylar decided to stay away for as long as possible.

The girl rolled onto her side and curled into a little ball despite her bones and muscles aching in protest. Skylar spent the day laying on her back barely moving to try and prevent the pain, now she realized that maybe getting up would have in fact have been a good idea, at least according to her stiff body. All she did was cause herself to hurt instead of preventing it. She kept her eyes closed and shook her head at herself. "Stupid, stupid girl..." She whispered to herself.

She began to wonder how in the world she found herself in this situation?

How did Skylar even manage to survive this long!? She didn't know how to use a sword! She was fairly good with a bow but still very clumsy. Her shooting the Bandit off the roof of the house was pure luck.

Why, of all the people, why was she the one to get this mark?

Wrong place at the wrong time?

Bad luck?

Cursed?

She didn't know. She couldn't exactly remember how it happened.

But now the weight of the world was on the shoulder's of a girl who barely knew how to fight and spent most of her life running. Always running. Never having anyone to rely on her like she had now.

Responsibility was something she never had.

People that she HAD to trust, that was something she never had either.

She was always alone.

She was certainly not used to simply having people around her like this. They almost made her feel cluster-phobic, almost to the point where she felt like she was drowning.

If these people really knew what kind of person Skylar was they would have lost all hope for their world long ago.

"I am not a hero..." She whispered as tears somehow escaped her tightly shut eyes. She brought the palm of her marked hand to her face and pressed it between her eyes as she clenched her teeth and silently wept. If only they knew what she was... Then maybe they would understand why Skylar didn't want to be there. This mark picked the wrong person to save the world, because there was no way Skylar was going to be able to do it. No way in hell, not in a million years. And... It was not because she didn't want to do it, it was because she couldn't.

She wept because she knew she would fail. These people put their hope in the wrong place.

**What's this? **

**w Is there more to our little Skylar that meets the eye? Is she not just some stuck up young lady who simply doesn't want responsibility? Is there an actual reason behind her distaste for her newly found role in the world?**

**Hmm...**

**What reasons could those be I wonder...**

**Well I think we will find out soon enough. **

**To Be Continued...**

**I hope you guys are enjoying it so far! Please! Tell me what you think!**

**Do you like what's going on? Does it piss you off? Does it give you the butterflies? Does it make you scream in anticipation because I always pick the worst of times to cut the chapters off?**

**Do you have any suggestions for me? And how is my amateur writing doing so far?**

**R&R**

**See you guys in the next chapter!**

**Shouldn't be too long before I have it up... I hope. **


	7. Awakening and Charging!

**It seems people are really liking where I am going with my story here! I am pleased! X3 I am so glad that you guys like it so far and believe me when I say that your encouraging comments are what are inspiring me to keep going with this story. **

**I only wish I could keep up with daily updates...**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter and I look forward to hear from you all. **

**OH! And someone mentioned that they think that I shouldn't be calling myself an amateur writer...**

**This is my response to that: *GIRLISH SCREAM OF EXCITEMENT* XDDDDDDDDDDDD Thank you!**

The night was long and agonizing for Skylar. Not physically but emotionally. It seemed everything had only caught up with her then. Only now did she understand the weight of the burden that was hanging over her head. She had known it was heavy from the start, but now the responsibility of being the Herald of Andraste felt like it was at least twenty times heavier. She felt like she was being crushed under the burden and no mater what she did she couldn't lift the weight off herself. As long as that stupid mark was on her hand she was bound to the fate she found herself in. Nothing could change that.

She felt hot, too hot. But at the same time she felt so cold.

Skylar didn't know if she wanted to kick the blankets away or cling to them for the warmth. Every time she pushed the covers away she was instantly chilled but as soon as they were on her she felt hot.

Eventually she gave up with trying to get comfortable and turned onto her side and curled into herself beneath the blankets.

The Herald didn't realize how much time passed as she laid in that bed. She never noticed how many times healers came in and out of the room with concerned looks on their faces, or how many times Solas sat beside her in deep concentration, or how someone would say her name and she would be completely unresponsive.

For three days Skylar's eyes remained closed and she was plunged into a dreamlike world.

She found herself wandering though a dimly lit castle. The only light present belonged to torches that hung on the wall but were spaced so far apart.

When Skylar tried to remove one of the torches she found that they were bolted into place and no matter how hard she pulled the torch stayed just where it was.

"Odd..." She grumbled to herself only after she continued on her way through the shadows. It was dim but at the same time Skylar could see everything. She couldn't explain how or why.

Eventually she found a table that was sitting directly in the middle of a room.

"Even more odd..." Skylar whispered when she noticed that the war map was on top of it.

She made her way over to it and examined it with brows furrowed. It was blank, there were no pieces on it... Except for one...

There was a figure of Andraste directly in the middle.

It was just sitting there as if someone had misplaced that piece.

With an arched brow she slowly reached forward as if she felt like it shouldn't be there.

"This is all but a dream, you know this, yes?" A gentle voice made Skylar spin around on her heel so fast that she almost lost her balance.

Her heart began to pound as she searched for who that voice belonged to. "Where are you?" The Herald asked nervously.

"I am here." Skylar turned around again when she heard the voice behind her. But still no one was there. "in your head." The voice answered her. But still no body was seen.

"You are starting to scare me..." The Herald's voice had a very subtle tremble to it as she slowly backed up until her back was touching the edge of the table.

"Don't be afraid." Somehow the voice seemed so soothing that for some odd reason Skylar felt the urge to close her eyes and fall asleep where she was standing. But with a quick shake of her head and her hands suddenly gripping the table behind her she managed to resist. She didn't trust whoever this person was.

"I want to help you." The voice sounded like it was just behind her but Skylar didn't turn around.

Instead she closed her eyes and exhaled. "This is just a dream." She grumbled. She finally realized what it was. "But why does it seem so real?" She wondered.

"Well, this is your head. So you tell me." The voice echoed around the room as if they were in a cave. "But yes. This is a dream. Do you know how long you have been here for?"

Skylar bit her bottom lip and opened her eyes with a slow shrug. "I don't know. A few minutes?" She asked.

"You have been here a little longer than that." The voice somehow convinced Skylar that it was telling the truth.

The Herald pursed her lips and looked straight forward. Suddenly the room went dark and the only source of light was coming from behind her. But she refused to turn around. The darkness was closing in on her as if the walls of the room were closing in.

Her heart began to pound harder and harder like a war drum pounding to the marching of an army.

"I think it is time for you to wake up now, I only made you sleep long enough for your body to recover, it's ok to go back now." The voice was just a whisper now and somehow it was very comforting to Skylar's ears.

She didn't know why she trusted that voice so much. But for some odd reason she did.

And so Skylar slowly turned around. "How... How do I wake up?" She asked, trying so hard not to sound scared due to the fact that the darkness was so very close now that it almost hurt.

"Just wake up." The voice was barely able to be heard as a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit Skylar and she felt the sensation of falling.

She screwed her eyes shut the moment she felt her back hit a soft surface, but then she exhaled when she felt a cool gentle hand over her forehead. Somehow it soothed away any ill feelings the dream left her with. Her heart was still pounding in her chest as she felt the hand travel to her cheek and then down to her neck.

Slowly did Skylar open her eyes to see two deep blue ones that belonged to a redhead.

"Lel?" Skylar's voice was so raspy from lack of use.

"Maker..." Leliana's eyes widened when she saw that Skylar's were open. "You're awake!" She almost yelped.

Skylar groaned slightly but then her brow furrowed. It was only then that she realized that Leliana's hand was resting on the side of her neck. Her face broke out in a blush. It wasn't that it was unpleasant... It was that it was, and that fact that Leliana's hand was just so nice and cool against her skin made things worse. She didn't want the redhead to pull away.

"Your fever seems to have finally broke... You're still quite warm though, but this is definitely a large improvement." The Spymaster gave a sigh of relief as she pulled her hand away, much to Skylar's dismay.

"Fever?" Skylar's brow furrowed in confusion and she could still feel the hot blush on her cheeks. She welcomed the cool breeze that flowed in through the open window. She turned her head to see the window drabs gently dancing with the wind.

"You were unconscious for three days." Leliana said as she rested her hands on her lap as she looked down at Skylar who was still laying flat on her back.

It was only then Skylar realized that Leliana's hood was down and she was sitting on the edge of her bed, in fact it seemed as though she had been there for a while.

"Three days?" The Herald blinked as she sat up before she looked around once more. The room had been tidied and things were not in the same places that Skylar remembered.

"Yes, three days." Leliana's hair danced with the breeze slightly as the wind picked up for a second. "Both you and I were bedridden for an entire day, when Solas finally let me come and see you I was shooed away and the only thing I was told was that you were not waking up and were very ill." The Spymaster's face twisted with worry and fear. "I thought the worse." Her voice was suddenly quiet. "I didn't want the last thing I remembered of you was..." She trailed off and looked away with shame clear on her face.

Skylar opened her mouth to say something but then she shut it again. What could she say? It was true, the last time they had seen each other it was rather... Disturbing and horrifying.

"I thought you really did get hurt." The bed shifted slightly as Leliana stood and began to slowly pace back and forth as frustration born from worry began to pulse through her veins. "I was so stupid! I shouldn't have turned my back! I should have been watching all angles! I shouldn't have just been attacking what was in my front line of sight! I should have been checking everywhere! Or at least I should have had someone to watch my back." The Spymaster ran her hands through her furious red hair with a frustrated groan. "The first thing I was taught, never go out into battle alone! It is then when your enemy catches you off guard! And that is exactly what happened!" She threw her hands up in the air. "I am supposed to be a spymaster! A master assassin! But I couldn't even defend myself against one horrible bandit!" Leliana turned to Skylar with her brows furrowed together. "This is all my fault!"

Skylar couldn't say one word, even if she tried Leliana's words were too strong for her own to go up against. All she could do was sit there and watch as Leliana had what almost looked like a miniature break down. She bit her lower lip as she let her speak.

"If I had taken even a single moment to think, to plan, to realize that it was too dangerous to wander out alone I would have tried a different approach." Leliana shook her head.

The Spymaster was beginning to sound like she was planning for a next attack... If one were to happen.

"So... Does this mean that you regret ordering me to stay locked up in my room as you go out and play hero?" Skylar's voice had a hint of humor to it as she arched a brow and tilted her head to the side. Skylar almost shrunk when she realized that Leliana completely stopped talking and was now staring at Skylar. The poor Herald couldn't read the look on the redhead's face. Was it too soon to make jokes? "Ok, I will take that as a yes, next time you try to tell me what to do I will do the complete opposite! You lock me in my room I will jump out my window and escape!" Skylar crossed her arms and looked smug for a moment. But then she dropped her arms back down to her lap as Leliana only gave a small sigh and sat back down on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands.

"You will do no such thing." Leliana's voice was particularly low and if Skylar didn't know any better... Threatening.

"Oh really?" Skylar was ready to put up a fight. She may feel like she was still tired but she was not about to stand down, not while they were on this topic. "Do you realize what could have happened if I decided to actually pay attention to your order?" Skylar's voice was hard. "I stand by what I did and I would do it again and again and again, it doesn't matter how many bones I break."

"Enough." Leliana sat up and tilted her head back with her eyes closed. "Just... Enough." She shook her head and stood up once more. "I know what almost happened, believe me. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it for three entire days! I can't process the fact that you were the one down on your death bed while I am completely healed!" She snapped as she loomed over Skylar who suddenly was feeling very nervous.

Skylar could see the fury that Leliana was famous for slowly surfacing. She honestly didn't know what to say or do now. She wondered if her legs worked enough for her to get out of bed and make her escape through that open window...

"Skylar! I'm serious!" Leliana could see the look on Skylar's face. She was not going to have any of that, not right now.

"What do you want me to say?" Skylar finally snapped back with her brows furrowed. "Something bad almost happened, something bad did happen! You were beaten senseless by a bloody bandit! How are we supposed to react to that?" She asked, her own frustration beginning to build. She didn't know how to handle this. What was she supposed to say or do? The Spymaster was obviously exhausted. It didn't look like she had rested much during the three days that Skylar had been unconscious.

Skylar rubbed her temples and sighed, slouching back down onto the bed as her head started to throb and her hand began to burn. "I can't deal with this right now." There was a pained look on Skylar's face as she rolled onto her side away from Leliana.

The Spymaster's shoulders drooped as she looked at Skylar. She was so small. She bit her lower lip and realized that she basically hounded the Herald the moment she woke up. With a shake of her head and a sigh she sat back down on the edge of the bed. Despite Skylar facing away from her she still spoke. "Skylar, I need to know something." Leliana's voice had a very serious element to it. There was just something about her tone that made Skylar feel very uncomfortable.

"What?" Skylar's eyes were closed as if she was trying to fall back asleep. But she was listening and for some unknown reason her stomach turned uncomfortably.

"Did that bandit hurt you?" Leliana's asked hesitantly.

"Besides a few bumps and bruises, I'm fine. I think I did more damage to him though." Skylar yawned not understanding the true meaning behind the question.

Leliana shook her head despite Skylar not looking at her. "No, Skylar, what I mean to say was... That bandit wanted to do something horrific. I can't remember what happened after I passed out but I know he didn't... To me... But..."

Skylar's eyes shot open and she sat up within an instant. "No." Skylar shook her head furiously. "That didn't happen! Nope." Skylar's voice was dead serious as she spoke. "He ran like a dog with it's tail between his legs."

Leliana's face suddenly was as hard as a rock. "He got away?" She breathed, her face going pale.

Skylar rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't realize how serious that was until that moment. She never really had the chance to tell anyone since both Leliana and herself were in no condition to tell of what happened, and then Skylar was unconscious for three days... "Yes... I attacked him and he ran. I was planning to go after him but I wasn't taking into account that I was going to be in out for this long." Skylar blinked.

Leliana was on her feet in an instant. "He got away... That bastard ran." The Spymaster looked furious. "Skylar, him and a still fairly large group of bandits made it out of Haven before the battle was over. So they are out there somewhere, and knowing just what he was wanting to do tells me that he would do it to anyone else he can over power." The Spymaster looked down at Skylar. "We need to track him down before he tries to make a second attack."

As Skylar listened she couldn't help but to notice just how pale Leliana's face was. She truly looked scared.

"Leliana?" Skylar managed to bring the redhead to silence. "Are you ok?" The Herald asked with a worried look on her face. "You're the one who got hurt not me..." Skylar rubbed her hands together. "How bad did he hurt you? Really?" Skylar wanted to help her, she wanted to put her mind at ease even if all she could do was be there and listen.

But Leliana shook her head. "I am fine. But we need to find him. I REFUSE to let that monster live." She hissed. "Forgive me Herald but I am going to tell Cullen that the defense around Haven needs to be doubled, we need to be ready and we need eyes to be open. We will not be able to survive another attack like the one we had."She made her way over to the door. "Skylar, please, just... Rest." She said with her hand on the doorknob.

Skylar shook her head. "Shouldn't I be the one telling you that?" She asked as she pushed the blankets off herself. She wanted to go after Leliana. That woman looked traumatized. "... How long were you waiting here for me to wake up?" Skylar suddenly asked. Stopping Leliana just as she opened the door.

The redhead turned slightly and looked at Skylar with a look so gentle and caring and so many other things that Skylar couldn't read. That look sent shivers down her spine.

"Since... I found out." Leliana told her before she slipped out of the room, leaving Skylar alone with her thoughts.

"Since you found out...? Does that mean..." Skylar shook her head. Leliana wouldn't have stayed the entire three days... Would she?

With a heavy sigh Skylar flopped back down onto the bed with her hands over her face. Everything was a mess... Her hand was burning, her head was throbbing... Three days lost... She wondered how many rifts opened while she was out. "I am not spending another day in bed, no way." She murmured. And with that she slipped out of bed and headed over to her cupboard.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Her legs were a little wobbly at first but after a few minutes of walking around she was fine. Other than feeling a little tired from obviously oversleeping she felt completely fine. She couldn't help but to wonder who that voice was in her dream... Was it a dream? Did the healers give her something to help her sleep and that was the result of them?

The Herald was so deep in thought that she almost ran straight into a young man in armor. She didn't recognize his face and instantly thought that maybe he was a new recruit who was going to help guard Haven.

"Excuse me, miss. But I am looking for someone to send a message to the Herald." The young man said after he bowed slightly in apology.

"Oh! Sorry!" Skylar squeaked and blushed with embarrassment. Not even awake for an entire day and she almost walked straight into another person. What a way to get injured... Again. "And you're speaking to her. How may I be of service?" She asked with a tilt of her head, trying desperately to cover up her embarrassment.

"Oh! Well then, this worked out well. My name is Krem." He began as he clasped his hands behind his back. "My Captain has heard of the inquisition and believes we can be of service." He explained. "There has been talk far and wide about how this organization is recruiting and he believe we would be a perfect addition to your team, of course the final say is yours." He said almost faltering due to the fact he may or may not have gotten too far ahead of himself. "

Skylar thought about it for a moment and nodded. "I am interested in seeing what you can offer us. We can use all the help we can get." She explained.

"Good. Meet us down at Storm Coast and watch us at work. If you like what you see than we are yours to hire." The young man gave a bow. "Be there by tomorrow tonight, midnight. Down by the shore. You will not be able to miss us." And with that said he walked away with his head held high.

Skylar couldn't help but notice how proud Krem looked. Usually that was a good sign when you were looking for people to add to a slowly growing army... "Hire...?" Skylar whispered. "If he means hire... Does that mean this is a group of mercenaries?" She murmured, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Truthfully she was hesitant about this entire situation. After the raid on Haven new faces made her nervous... But at the same time she couldn't afford to be picky with who they add to the Inquisition... Even if this might cost a lot...

She contemplated about tracking Leliana down and checking up on the Redhead but when she realized that she probably wouldn't be able to find her even if she tried she stopped looking before she even started. The Spymaster had her ways of doing things. If she wanted to rest she would be in her room resting and Skylar didn't dare to disturb her. But if the woman wanted to track that bandit down instead...

Skylar's gut twisted uncomfortably at the thought of Leliana going after him alone. She knew that the Spymaster was a master Assassin and could probably kill him before he even knew what hit him, but... Skylar was worried.

Shaking her head she forced herself to calm down.

She had to get to the Storm Coast. To get there in time she would have to go on horseback.

The Herald stopped herself when she realized that she was basically planning on going alone... Hesitating she looked around and her eyes found a certain Elven mage...

"Solas! Are you busy?" Skylar had a little smirk on her face. "And have you seen Varric?"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Ah HA!" A very large, grey, horned man cheered as they made they way into Haven. "You call this a fortress?" The man asked with his hands on his hips. He had a single shoulder guard on and a pair of armored trousers... As well as an eye-patch over his left eye. "This is quite small..." He grumbled.

"Yes well... We are working with what we have at the moment, to be honest." Skylar sighed as she hopped down off her horse and into the snow.

Almost immediately after they arrived Cassandra, Cullen, and Leliana all calm marching down the stairs towards them.

"Oh! Iron Bull, this is some of the other members of our Crew... They can be very..." Skylar trailed off.

Verric came up behind Skylar with his crossbow on his shoulder. "Hey Herald... You did remember to tell them we were leaving... Right?" He asked with a amused look on his face. "Red looks like her hair is about to turn into fire..."

"Of course I did!" Skylar blinked. "I... Uh... Left a note..." She coughed slightly.

"A note? Oh Dear Maker... Do you ever get tired of being on certain people's bad sides..." Solas pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know what! I am going to get away from here and out of ear shot. I can do without a migraine for at least ONCE this week!" Solas Marched off into Haven with Varric behind him.

Varric gave Skylar a thumbs up for good luck before they were gone.

"You didn't tell me that you have such beautiful women in your ranks!" Iron Bull grinned.

"Oh god... What have I done..." Skylar sighed as she shook her head. "I am in so much trouble..."

"Yes you are!" Leliana was the first to speak. "And who are you?" She demanded as she stared up at the giant of a man that was a Qunari that was standing just in front of Haven with a band of Mercenaries behind him.

"I am Iron Bull, you may call me Bull." He puffed out his chest and gave Leliana a grin. "Me and my boys are here to help the Inquisition any way we can!" He declared as he pounded his chest with one of his fists.

Cullen looked up at Iron Bull and then at his boys. "Honestly... I think we could actually use you." He began.

"You CAN'T be serious!" Leliana barked at Cullen as she spun on her heel to look at him.

"What!?" The Ex Templar raised his hands in defense. "We do need the Help, Leliana. After the Bandit raid we lost a lot of good men. We were not ready for an attack like that. If we were not ready for a band of Bandits what makes you think we will be ready for Demons?" Cullen's voice raised slightly.

"What Cullen says it true." Cassandra spoke up with a shrug.

"You can't be serious!" Leliana threw her hands up in the air and glared at Skylar.

"Were... I see she should have informed us better... I think she may have helped the Inquisition immensely..." Cassandra shook her head.

Skylar remained quiet as the Redhead's eyes burned into her. She felt like Leliana was imagining ripping off the Herald's head and placing it on a spike.

"Now, now!" Iron Bull spoke up as he Stood between Skylar and Leliana. "How about you tell us where we can settle down. Tension is so high here that we could pop a bandit's head with it!" He howled with laughter for a moment. "So, let's not kill the tiny girl for her making probably the best decision this inquisition can make and let's look at the bigger picture here! Dinner!"

Leliana shook her head and stepped around Iron Bull. "You want to make choices on your own and wander off to play hero without taking into consideration that people worry! Fine! Be that way! From here on end you won't need to bother checking in to see if I can help because I won't give it! My agents obviously need me more than the bloody Herald does! Go, Go and get yourself killed by a bandit without anyone knowing where you are! See if I care!" She yelled, poking Skylar in the chest once before she spun on her heel and stomped away.

Skylar watched her go, feeling the burden of guilt in the pit of her stomach.

"Well... That was..." The Bull began.

"Don't say it..." Skylar sighed. "Please don't..."

**SKYLAR!**

**STOP PISSING YOUR PEOPLE OFF!**

**XDDD**

**So... First of all I know this feels rushed but I want to get this story somewhere before I allow certain things to happen. **

**All I can say is get ready. From here on end Skylar better learn how to fight better VERY fast... XD **

**Spoiler alert ahead!**

**So I know that Krem is actually a female but in the game Krem is identified as a male. So it will be mentioned at some point in this story that Krem is a female but identifies as a male, but in this story I will be using pronouns like He, His, Him, etc... Just thought I'd let you know in case everyone was getting confused if you had already played the game and know. I don't want anyone to be offended, etc...**

**Please R&R**

**And I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter!**


	8. The Secret is spilled

"It isn't Orlesain..." Varric grumbled to himself as he leaned back in his wooden chair and stared Skylar down. "You are not from Lothering... Or Denerim..." The Dwarf began to go through a list of locations and races. He just couldn't seem to pin point what Skylar's accent was. She had a calm yet slightly raspy voice, her accent was much like his but also different a the same time. Her accent was a mystery to him. It was so subtle that everyone would just assume that it was simply the way she talked, but Varric was able to tell, with his skill with voice and words he knew that this girl was definitely not from anywhere he knew. He listed off more races and places as Skylar slowly flipped through a book that she had her nose buried in.

"Nope, nope and nope." Skylar licked her finger and turned the page. It was plain to see that she didn't care that Varric was poking and prodding her for her Origins.

"Okay, this is going to bug me all night!" Varric ran his hands through his hair and groaned. "I have never met someone I couldn't figure out!" He cried. "Even Leliana and Cassandra were easier to figure out than you, and saying that is very scary. Do you know how hard I had to work to figure Cassandra out?" He asked, placing his hands on the table.

"Nope." Was Skylar's answer.

"Very hard, Leliana was easy... She is painfully Orlesian, but to figure out the rest of the details about her was scarily difficult. That woman is just plain scary to be honest. And then here you are... I look at you and I draw a blank. That NEVER happens." Varric declared as he pointed at Skylar with an accusing look in his eye. "What are you hiding?" Varric's voice was suddenly low as he stared across the table.

Only did she realize that the Dwarf was still glaring at her even after a moment when she peered over her book she sighed and looked at him, placing the book down on the table with her hands resting on top of it's cover. "Varric, does it look like I am hiding anything?" She tilted her head to the side with a brow raised. "Honestly, out of everyone here you are the one who knows the most about me, and in the end you say I am hiding something? Really?" She gave him a look that said 'oh really?'.

Varric pursed his lips for a second and dropped his hand. "But that's the thing, I am the one who knows the most about you and the most exciting thing I know about you that no one else does is that you have this really big addiction to tea and that you are secretly scared of Nugs!" He threw his hands up in the air and shook his head. "What I want to know is, who are you, where are you from, what did you do before that mark was on your hand, who were you, what did you do? Did you bake bread for a living or were you a weapon smith? Did you travel the world? What places have you seen? What adventures have you been on... What's your favorite color! All those details and yet I draw a blank when I look at you." He gave a pout. "I am a bloody writer for crying out loud... I should be able to reach these little details within days... I am that nosy..." He grumbled.

Skylar pointed at Varric with a serious look on her face. "Nugs are evil. And... Why do you want to know all that stuff, what use would it do you?" She shrugged. "I'm here, is that not enough?" She gave a little smirk.

"Building relationships with your companions is a very important thing, Herald." Varric arched a brow. "You need to know that you can trust the people who are standing behind you. And right now you have the world counting on you. There are people who are already getting angry with the fact that no one knows who you are. Royalty don't like that. They want to know every single angle of you. Politics... Are crazy... But when you are in the position you are in... Can you blame them?" He shrugged. "Besides... What is the harm in people knowing about you, unless you really do have something to hide." He tilted his head to the side and earned himself a glare. Varric instantly raised his hands. "Hey! I am not judging, you are taking to someone who can probably write an entire series with how many secrets he has." He chuckled but then went quiet. "But if you do keep up this mysterious act and you really don't want people to know the real you... You might need to make something up just to get the politicians off your back..."

Skylar blinked. "Lie?" She asked almost amused.

"Yes, lie. Trust me it will get you a lot father than a simple blank page." The Dwarf shrugged. Varric sat there watching Skylar for a moment before he sighed. The girl looked so distracted as she stared down at the book her hands were resting on top of. "Ok, what's eating you? Are you still upset that red is mad at you?" Varric asked her.

Skylar shrugged. "I don't know..." She sighed before slouching in her chair with a puzzled look on her face.

"Look." Varric leaned forward in his chair with a gentle look on his face. "You managed to strengthen the defenses in Haven with new recruits, granted they may cost a pretty penny but we can't put a price on the survival of the people who are living within these walls." The Dwarf explained. "Red will come around eventually, like you said in your letter, you didn't want to waste any time, the opportunity for help arrived and you couldn't wait to set up a meeting. It can't be more simple than that, also you didn't go alone, I honestly do not see why she is so upset! You did a good thing for everyone! With that Qunari and his boys helping with our defense I don't think any more bandits will try to attack us again any time soon!" Varric folded his arms behind his head and leaned back his his chair, propping his feet up on the table. "We can finally take a moment to relax and breath without worrying." He closed his eyes for a moment with a satisfied smirk on his face.

When Varric opened his eyes he sighed when he saw that Skylar was resting her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbows on the table and her eyes locked on that book that was now in front of her. She had the look of complete and utter stress on her face.

"I said, we can finally... Relax!" Varric reached forward to take the book from her but Skylar instantly shut it and pulled it away.

"No, you can relax, I can't." Her words were sharp as a dagger that was coated in the world's most lethal poison. Her eyes were sharp and her brows were furrowed. Her hands were flat against the cover of the book once more.

Varric pulled his hands away and rubbed his thumb against his fingers. "What do you have there...?" He asked suddenly very curious about the book she was so infatuated with.

"Nothing important." Skylar muttered as she pulled the book off the table and onto her lap.

But the instant the book left the surface of the table it was slipped out from her hands.

"Well! You are interested in the Magic arts?" A deep voice asked.

Skylar's heart jolted in her chest as her head snapped to the side to find the Qunari standing beside her with one hand on his hip and the other holding the book. His brow was arched and he had a smirk on his face. "Very smart actually. For one who doesn't possess the talent, it is very wise to study it, that way you can use their knowledge against them by knowing every single move they are about to make! Brilliant! Use this to your advantage! Then you will have your foes at your feet within seconds!" He howled with proud laughter as Skylar jumped to her feet and snatched the book out of his hands.

"Shush." The Herald hissed as she looked around, holding the book to her chest.

"What's the problem, short stuff?" Verric asked with his feet once again back on top of the table and his chair balancing on it's back legs. "Honestly, it's good to see that you are reading at least something. I don't think I have even seen you read anything other than that war map." He admitted. "But... A book about magic?" He chuckled.

"I must admit, hearing that one who does not possess the talent reading about it... It's odd." Solas entered the room with a confused look on his face. "Usually they read about magic..." He slipped the book out of Skylar's arms. "But to read one that helps teach you how to do certain spells... Now that is a whole other story... Some may call you insane... Unless..." Solas went quiet and gave Skylar a look of confusion that quickly changed to realization. "Oh." He breathed as he handed her back the book.

The Elven mage took a step back as he watched his Herald hug the book to her chest and brush her hair out of her eyes before she looked around at anything that wasn't any of the three who had basically unintentionally cornered her.

"I honestly had no idea." The mage rubbed his chin with an apologetic look on his face.

"What?" Iron Bull's brows raised in confusion. "That she likes to read?" He was so confused that he scratched the back of his neck as he tilted his head to the side. The giant of a man was completely oblivious to what was going on.

"Oh... I think I get it now..." Varric actually chuckled. "One of your many secrets?" He arched a brow with a small smirk. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with us, isn't it, boys?" The Dwarf asked as he looked up at Iron Bull and then back down at Solas.

"Secret...?" The Bull rubbed his stubbly chin and blinked.

"She is secretly a mage." Solas explained with a low voice.

Skylar groaned and covered her face with her hand. "Do you even need to say it?" She grumbled. "Really guys...?" She hissed.

"Why are you hiding that?" Iron Bull asked. "You could use that in combat! It could be very effective along with your Rogue like movements... Or perhaps you should just use that magic instead..." He muttered quietly. "You don't look like you are trained to deal with blades... Much."

"Because..." Skylar's voice was quiet as she shoved that stupid book into her backpack. She should have known better than to simply read it out in the open where everyone could see. "Where I come from being a mage is bad." She muttered quietly as she sat back down in her arm chair. There was a fireplace just a little ways away from her.

Iron Bull crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wooden table. Varric still had his arms behind his head and his feet on top of the table, while Solas stood in off to the side a bit.

"What else is new. Lots of places being a mage is bad, look around... Almost every mage that is open about it was locked up in the Circle or is labeled as a Apostate." Varric shrugged. "The Qunari, if I am correct... Are even worse off, they chain and bound their mages and sew their mouths shut so they won't get the chance for free will."

Iron Bull nodded. "Saarebas, is what they are called. They are stripped off their free will and made into tools for the Qunari to use without worrying about the mages turning against them."

"I know about the Qunari Saarebas, and I know about the circle and I know about the apostates." Skylar grumbled. "This is different. Where I come from the Mages don't even get the chance to live. As soon as they find out you are a mage they try to rip it out of you, of course that doesn't work but they don't understand that. And so when they finally figure it out that they can't be cured they don't chain and bound us, they don't make us Tranquil, they kill us in possibly the worst way possible. They strap you down on a table and torture you to death as punishment for being nothing more than a sin." Skylar was slouching in her chair with a fearful look on her face. "Where I come from... Magic... Is bad... If the person has the magic, that person is bad. No way around it. So that means I am bad... And if they find me again I will be killed." She sighed.

"Maker..." Varric was suddenly sitting upright with his hands flat on the table and his eyes wide open. "I have never heard of this and that is very bad coming from me! I usually know everything!" He blinked. "Where the hell are you from?" He suddenly demanded.

Skylar sighed when she felt all three sets of eyes burning into her. "You would have never heard about it... Because we are not from a set location. We are always moving from place to place. Almost like the Elves." She said as she motioned to Solas who's eyebrows raised slightly. "Sometimes my people stop at a location.. Like... An abandoned castle. They would restore it to the point it is livable and stay there for a number of years before they decide to keep moving. It is only when people realize that we are there we move." She explained.

"Do your people have a name?" Varric was suddenly very curious and intrigued. It was not every day he found out about new people. "This explains why I couldn't place your accent." He said with pride.

"We are Vikings... At some point in history we did have another name... Norse... I believe. But it almost looks as if we were almost wiped from history after... Well... Vikings are not the most kind of people..." Skylar twitted her thumbs. "Vikings can be as brutal as Qunari... Sometimes worse. The way of thinking... It's so... Brutal... If you can't meet their standards they would throw you off a cliff for not being able to contribute to the people. If a child is born and doesn't meat a weight requirement they are literally killed right then and there, if there is any deformities, once again the child doesn't get to live. Anything that doesn't meat the standards that were put in place is seen as inadequate and needs to be done away with. That is why Vikings are always so strong, they get rid of those who they consider to be weak. And as for mages... Mages are a sign of evil. Like I already said... As soon as a mage shows the signs... They are gone, we don't even get a chance. Doesn't matter if you are a child or adult. You will be punished." Skylar bit her bottom lip and hung her head. "Before I ran... Even before they knew I was a mage they were already talking about doing away with me just because I was so small. I may have just met the standards when I was born but as I got older I turned out to be what is known as a runt."

"Vikings! Yes! Of course!" Varric beamed. "I have heard of you before!..." His look of achievement suddenly faded and his face went pale. "Oh... Oh god." He grumbled as he sat back down.

"What?" Solas arched a brow.

"Well... Vikings, even though they are simply human, they can put Qunari to shame with their way of life." Varric rubbed his chin. "Raiding, pillaging, raping, stealing, and just plain down right cold blooded killing is what Vikings are famous for. I have read about them in a book once and from what I could tell almost everyone thinks they have been wiped out."

"We haven't been wiped out." Skylar had the look of shame on her face. "Vikings learn, they adapt, and the moment in history where things began to change and people began to fight back is the moment Vikings realized that they lost. So instead of facing extinction they chose to do something else. They hid, they got stronger... They began to basically breed for the soul purpose to making a people who only knew how to fight and kill. In history books that the Vikings had they told about how one day they would rise up on the backs of dragons and punish all those who were below them. Which was basically every living creature." Skylar rubbed her temples and shook her head.

"So why have you been hiding this?" Solas asked. "We certainly are not like them." He pointed out.

"For two reasons." Skylar had the look of annoyance on her face. "One... Do you really want to be the companion of a Viking. You just heard my explanation of them! They are monsters! So one reason why I kept it to myself is because I don't want anyone to be scared of me because I am NOTHING like them." She hissed.

All three men looked at Skylar with pity on their faces but the Herald just waved them off.

"And the second reason... You all still have voices, voices carry, and if the wrong people hear that voice they will come running. Understand?" Skylar asked nervously. "All I need is for one person to accidentally tell the wrong person and that's it... I'm done." She sighed. "I have been on the run for a long time... Since I was a child basically. I was one of the few who managed to slip out. The night I realized I was showing the signs I jumped out a window and ran. Of course they figured it out and it wasn't long before they began to try and track me down. I have had lots of close calls but I have always managed... And the only reason I managed is because I have never stayed in one place for longer than a month... But not because of that breech and because of this thing on my hand... It's only a matter of time before they find me..." Skylar sat up with her hands on the arm rests. "Publicity is what is going to kill me. Almost everyone knows my name and my face now that I have this thing on my hand. I am everyone's Herald! The hope for this world. I would be surprised if they didn't already know about me now." She sighed in defeat.

"Ah, so all this time you were afraid that your Viking people would find out you were here and they would come and take you." Solas pointed out. "This explains everything." He sighed. "If you had said something sooner than perhaps Josephine and Leliana would have been able to do something to make a cover up story or a decoy so no one knew that you were the one with the mark." He explained.

"Yes well I didn't get the chance to say anything before I was taken and locked up in that Dungeon for maker knows how long." Skylar shook her head. "And then by the time I was finally let out everyone knew my name. So... Everything was kind of set in stone before I was even given a choice. And on top of everything, I honestly can't remember how this thing even got on me." She waved her marked hand before she allowed it to drop back on the armrest.

"Yeah well, falling through a fade portal will do that to you." Varric shrugged.

Skylar placed her chin in the palm of her hand and looked off to the side a bit. "No one else knows about this." She began with hesitation clear in her voice. She was happy that they were the only ones in that room. She didn't know if she could handle anyone else knowing. She was even wondering why she was not running for the hills at that very moment. Surely she would have a higher chance of survival if she simply ran. If she kept moving the Vikings would have a harder time finding her.

She blinked a few times at herself. Was she more scared of the Vikings or the huge Breech in the sky that was hemorrhaging Demons left and right? She really couldn't tell...

"So I don't want you three telling anyone." Skylar's voice was suddenly very serious as she looked back and forth between the three men.

"Ah! An oath of silence! You got it, Boss!" Iron Bull gave a salute as he puffed out his giant chest.

Varric gave a shrug. "Well, I happen to be very good at keeping secrets, just ask Cassandra." He chuckled as he wore a look on his face that told everyone that he was hiding something big from the scarred woman.

Solas gave a sigh and shook his head. "As sad as it is for a mage to have to hide the fact that she possesses a gift such as this... I will do my part and remain silent about it." He had the look of disapproval. "And only because I know it could most likely jeopardize your life." The Elven mage paused for a moment and pursed his lips in thought. "Are you perhaps thinking about this the wrong way? I mean yes you should probably stay low but... Maybe you should tell the rest of the Inquisition, Leliana, Josephine, Cullen and Cassandra might be able to help." He explained. "I think it was already said but Josephine and Leliana together could work something out and make it so you are basically invisible. They can maybe help change your identity so it is basically impossible for those Vikings to find you. You have friends here who can help you, they would never let anything happen to you." His voice was low and gentle at the same time.

"No. I won't have it. I won't have anyone else knowing." Skylar shook her head. "It is already too much that you three know, please, Solas. Don't push this topic with me. I am set on my decision." Her voice ended with a deep sigh. She already felt defeated. She simply didn't want anyone else to know. She had been taught that being a viking and being a mage at the same time is bad. In her mind she was bad. She didn't want to see the looks on the faces of the rest if the found out what she really was.

"The Boss had made her decision." Iron Bull cracked his knuckles and stood up straight and toward over the two other men. "Tell no one. What the boss says is what we do." His voice was low and threatening.

Solas sighed once again. "Very well, as you please, Herald. Not one word of this shall pass my lips... Unless of course Vikings come knocking on the front door then I might come to you screaming." With that said the Mage turned on his heel and went back to what he was doing.

"Eh, do you really think I would tell anyone?" Varric shook his head. "I am the master of keeping secrets."

"Well then, Master. If you are so good I have a job for you." Skylar tilted her head with a brow raised. "Do what you have to do to cover this up. Help me make it so no one else will find out. Same with you Iron Bull." She pointed up at the Qunari who nodded. "Now if you both don't mind..." Skylar went back to what she was doing making sure to be more cautious this time. In the back of her head she was a screaming mess. And not only that... She was still very worried about how a certain redhead was not too happy with her at that point in time.

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><p><strong>The information behind Vikings in this chapter is not meant to be the real information in our world. I have changed it a lot to fit in this story. So nothing in this story being told about Vikings is legit fact. What they are in this story is a new race of people because I wanted to throw a whole new turn into this world. <strong>

**Dragon age has Elves, Dwarfs, humans, etc... So Skylar is indeed human but she is not a Nobel, or a peasant or anything like that. She is from a people who were basically borderline, or past the point of being bandits. They were barbarians. But the question that still remains is... Where is Skylar's Brutal personality that her people are famous for? XD**

**I am really starting to have fun with this story.**

**So...**

**NOTHING I WRITE ABOUT IN THIS ABOUT VIKINGS IS REAL FACT! XD Don't use what I am writing in this as a source for a project because it's not real! XDDDDDD I am making this up as I am going!**

***clears throat***

**XD so I hope you all paid close attention because this chapter is very important for the upcoming plot. **

**R&R**

**Lemme know what you think about our Skylar's little secret identity!**


	9. Over the edge

**I am so happy to hear that you guys love my addition of Vikings into the story. When ever I play any Dragon Age I always feel like there is something missing... I love the background stories, I do... But I like things that are Different... Perhaps a darker turn?**

**Sometimes I wish that they allowed an option for a Mage to be a Blood Mage from the start, or a Human be a bandit from the start, or something like that. XD Make the story Unique! I love Vikings. So throwing Vikings into this was a really big treat for me and knowing that everyone likes it makes it even more special.**

**Now, I know that there are people who are saying that I made my Vikings look more... Spartan. XD At the bottom of my last Chapter I said I was not follow real life facts that are known about real life Viking history. I was mixing it up. So I am very happy someone noticed the Spartan thing because that was actually what I was aiming for! Good job!**

**I wanted to Mix a people who were human but like a Qunari at the same time. And that to me was not enough. I added a Spartan feel to it. A race that has built itself on the idea that only the strong survive. So anyone who doesn't add up the requirements that a Leader has put into place they would do away with them because they would be of no use. And instead of letting them live they were disposed of.**

**More information about my unique Viking people will come up later in the story. XD Maybe if you guys want I will dedicate a whole chapter where I will place all my information. It would be like a page from a history book. But I will leave that up to you guys since you all are the ones who are reading this. **

**So if anyone wants me to do that let me know! I will work it into the story, I am even accepting suggestions how I would go about doing that!**

**With all that said I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! **

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><p>"I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE HER!" Leliana was still fuming with what happened with Skylar. She was leaning over a table going through paperwork for one of her Agents. She had been grumbling about Skylar for so long that no one even knew if she was capable of talking about anything else! An Agent brought Leliana a secret document containing information about another one of her Agents who was captured and was in need of rescuing.<p>

The poor agent was standing in front of the table with his hands clasped behind his back while he chewed his bottom lip. He was silently begging the maker for Leliana to hurry up so he could go and just do his job. This had to be the third time he has found himself trapped in Leliana's rage. Where he knew it was not directed at him he still found it extremely awkward.

Days had gone by and Leliana was obviously still distraught.

The other members of the Inquisition began to notice little things as well. It was not only her rage towards Skylar... But instead when ever anyone grew close to Leliana, whether it be to take something off a table and accidentally brushing against her, or if they went to pat her on the shoulder, the Redheaded woman would flinch away with the look of utmost disgust on her face.

The Orlesian would look like she was about to yell or even hit, but she never did. Instead she would retreat away a little distance and go back to what she was doing.

People were beginning to worry about her but no one knew exactly how to approach the situation. Leliana had a very small bubble and it seemed that everyone had the ability to pop it just by coming within an arm's reach of her.

"There." The Spymaster grumbled as she signed the form after going over every single detail while grumbling. "Bring home my Agent. Make sure she is unharmed... And if these Bastards dared to do anything to her... You know what to do." She said as she shoved the orders into the Agents arms so he could go gather some of the other members without being questions for needing so many.

The Agent gave a quick not before running as fast as he could out of Leliana's office, nearly running face first into Skylar along the way.

"Sorry!" He yelped before he continued on his way. He needed to get as far away from that crazy woman as possible!

Skylar watched as the Agent basically fled the scene.

The Herald had heard about Leliana's mood-swings... She was the one who kept enduring them...

A Few days went by after Iron Bull, Varric and Solas learned of her secret. She buried herself in her duties to take her mind off it, thinking that one of them would spill the secret within a day.

But when she realized that all three were going about their lives as if they didn't even know gave her hope.

During those past few days they recruited a few new members to the Inquisition.

Skylar was now going to be traveling to Val Royeaux soon with Cassandra in hopes that they would gain Favor of the Chantry. They needed them on their side if things were going to commence. If they had the Chantry on their side than the Templars were to follow. The Templars would be the final push they needed to get close to the Breech so Skylar could close it! Then everything could go back to the way it was before that Bloody Breech opened.

While Skylar wanted to get to Van Royeaux as fast as possible she felt like she had unfinished business there in Haven. And that Business was Leliana. That woman was still so angry with her that it was to the point that it was unexplainable. What ever was bothering Leliana had to be put out in the open if they were going to work together.

Skylar had a idea of what was going on. She only realized it that day.

Skylar was the only one who knew about what almost happened to Leliana. So either Leliana was putting the blame of the entire situation on Skylar's shoulders or this woman really was traumatized and the only way for those horrible feelings to escape were to be angry with the only other person who was involved in the situation.

Very slowly pushing open the door and stepping into the office Skylar looked around and found the Spymaster sitting at Josephine's desk with her eyes closed and her fingers rubbing her temples.

Leliana had set up in Josephine's office that day. Josephine was off doing something so she allowed the Spymaster to set up shop since the temperatures were dropping to the point that skin would freeze within seconds.

Even without being detected and not even being in that room for more than a minute Skylar could already tell that the tension was so high it could make even the strongest of men snap. She contemplated about turning around and walking away to let Leliana just calm down for a few days. Skylar would be gone for just over a week to do her mission so Leliana would have the opportunity of not having Skylar anywhere near her and hopefully that would give her a chance to wind down.

But before the girl even had the chance to turn around and walk away because of her poor choice of coming to see the Spymaster she was Leliana snapped her fingers and pointed at her. The Redhead's eyes were still closed but somehow she knew Skylar was there.

The Herald felt the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end with the shock and fear that was suddenly pulsing through her veins.

What was the Spymaster going to do?

Even Bull was mortified of the woman.

Skylar remembered Iron Bull telling her about how he would never want to get on Leliana's bad side, she had the anger of a thousand suns and the power to drop even the largest man to his knees. He actually, truly feared her. And if Iron Bull feared Leliana... Should Skylar fear her too? Especially knowing that the woman was so angry with her that she could spit fire.

Skylar clasped her hands together behind her back so she could hide the fact that they were shaking.

"What are you doing here?" The Redhead's voice sounded tired and grumpy as she went back to rubbing her temples, not once did she open her eyes to even so much as look at Skylar which only made the Herald feel more uncomfortable.

This entire idea was a complete bad idea from the start. What did Skylar even think she was going to accomplish by coming here? Did she hope that some miracle too place and the redhead was suddenly no longer angry with her?

"I came to check on you." Skylar somehow kept her voice low and calm as she slowly walked further into the room, her hands were still clasped behind her back making her look like she was casually looking around. "I actually thought Josephine was in here... I was going to ask her something but I see that she's not here but when I saw you I thought I would see how you were doing..." Skylar half lied. But she had to make it seem like she didn't just come to see Leliana out of the blue... She didn't know how she would react to that.

"Josephine is off doing her job somewhere, she should be back tomorrow." Leliana declared with a dismissive voice. "Do you want to write a letter I will see to it that she gets it when she gets back, I know how busy you are with your running around playing Hero." Her voice had a sting to it.

The last word made Skylar flinch. _'Hero' _

Why did that word pierce her so badly?

Skylar stopped walking and just looked at Leliana with a dead stare. " '_playing _Hero'. " Skylar hissed. "Yes, because this is all just a game, isn't it?" The Herald shook her head and stepped back towards the door.

When Skylar didn't get another word out of Leliana she sighed and turned on her heel to walk away. But as soon as she had her hand on the door and was about to retreat down the hall to where Cassandra was waiting for her she looked over her shoulder. She would now see this woman for over a week. Was she really going to leave knowing she was still this bitter.

After staring at Leliana who was now looking down at something that was on the desk she turned back to the door and whacked her forehead against it before spinning around and storming over to the desk.

Leliana was taken by surprise when Skylar snatched the paper that she was looking at away.

"What do you think you ar-!?" Leliana's eyes went wide when Skylar's hands took hold of Leliana's chair and spun her around so that she was facing her.

"No, no more. Enough." Skylar said with her hands on the arm rests and her face barely inches away from the Spymaster's.

Leliana was leaning back in her chair and was holding her breath. No one ever DARED to get this close before. They always feared that she would pull out a Dagger and slit their throat.

But Skylar didn't have any hint of fear in her eyes, no, instead, deep in those sea blue eyes was nothing but worry. Seeing that made Leliana's heart that had been frozen from the result of everything she had gone through begin to melt. Her mouth opened slightly and her brow furrowed. Why wasn't Skylar scared of her? Why was she so close? Why was she not letting her go?

"Skylar, leave me be." Leliana ordered with narrowed eyes. She didn't yet move.

"No!" Skylar hissed with a glare of her own. "You are going to stop what you are doing, you are going to stop being so pissed off with me all the time, you are going face the real problem and you are going to get back on your feet. You are making everyone nervous!" The Herald spoke the truth. "No one knows what to say to you, It is to the point you can't function!"

Leliana's glare went intense as she placed her hands on Skylar's shoulders and pushed her away so she could get to her feet. "You don't know what you are talking about." The Spymaster grumbled as she straightened her clothes. Her voice was back to being dismissive.

"I know exactly what I am talking about! Everyone is coming to me thinking I know exactly what to say to you to make you feel better!" Skylar's words were desperate. "I don't know what to say! I don't know what to do! But when everyone is expecting me to supposedly 'fix' you because I apparently have all the answers since I am the apparent Herald of Andraste!" Skylar waved her hands around. "So, you know what, fine I will try it. If it makes you feel better! Tell me what is wrong!" She ordered.

Leliana crossed her arms over her chest and glared. "Get out." Her voice was low and dangerous.

"No. Is this about what happened? Is it still bothering you? Have you talked to no one?" Skylar took a step closer to her. "Am I still the only one who knows about what almost happened?" Her face wore nothing but concern.

"I said, get out!" Her voice was so venomous but Skylar remained unfazed.

"That's it! Isn't it? The reason why you are angry with me is because I am the only one who knows, so it only makes sense to aim the hurt and anger somewhere, so you picked the only target you can find that was involved, which is me because you can't find him! Leliana, you need to talk about this!" Skylar was shaking now, why was she shaking? She didn't understand why she was so obsessed with making things right, she took another step forward towards Leliana. She had to get through to her or she feared that Leliana wouldn't be here in Haven when she returned.

"I said... Get. Out!" Leliana lashed out and shoved Skylar back.

Skylar stumbled and her back met the table and she leaned up against it. Her eyes were screwed shut when she realized that she still had bruises on her back from when she trained with Cassandra. Giving her head a shake she looked up at Leliana.

The Spymaster looked shocked with her own actions. She looked down at her own hands before she looked up at Skylar.

She took a small step forward before she stopped. "Skylar... I..." She didn't finish her sentence. She ran her hands through her hair and realized just how broken she was.

She shook her head and gave Skylar a look before she began to make her way towards the open door as fast as she could. She had to get away from Skylar. She couldn't face her.

Skylar was slightly dazed and her back, where she hit the table was aching. That woman was stronger than she looked.

The Herald looked up in time to see Leliana trying to get away. She reached her hand out. "Wait!"

Maybe it was her nerves? Maybe it was the fact that too many emotions were overwhelming her system? Maybe it was the fact that all that mixed together made it hard for her to think?

But the moment Skylar raised her hand she felt it. Her eyes widened as they went bright purple before a forceful push of power was sent across the room. It missed Leliana and hit the door hard enough to slam it shut.

Skylar froze.

Her eyes were wide and still glowing as she slowly lowered her hand and held it with her other in front of her chest. She felt chills run down her spine. This was bad.

Leliana was completely still. She was completely stunned. The felt the power. It was magic.

She turned to Skylar in time to catch her glowing eyes before they went back to normal. The Girl looked horrified.

Completely forgetting what just happened Leliana approached her. "You're... A mage?" She asked completely confused.

Skylar looked around the room and quickly sidestepped Leliana before she could get too close. "I'm... DON'T TELL ANYONE!" She stuttered once she got to the door. "I'm... Sorry..." Her voice was a whisper before she opened the door and ran.

"Skylar!" She tried but Leliana didn't even get the chance to stop her. The girl was already gone. Vanished. The look of sheer terror on Skylar's face was burned into her mind.

The redhead leaned up against the desk with a pitiful look on her face. She felt like she just saw something she was not meant to see. The only thing she felt pulsing through her veins now was guilt.

* * *

><p><strong>OH NO! <strong>

**LELIANA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?**

**WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK!?**

**SHOULD SHE GO AFTER HER!?**

**WHERE IS SKYLAR GOING!?**

**WHAT IS GOING ON!?**

...

**XD... Should I update fast..? Or maaaybe let it sizzle for a while..?**

**R&R and lemme know!**

**It's up to you guys!**


	10. SHE KNOWS!

**SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN UPDATES!**

**x.x I ended up being thrown into a week of exams and had to focus on that for a bit! **

**I think I have finally almost beaten Dragon Age Inquisition after over 100 hours of playing it. xDDD But then again I don't know. I keep stopping to do all the side quests.**

**I hope you all enjoy the latest chapter!**

**R&R**

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><p>Her heart was pounding in her chest and her mind was racing a thousand miles per minute. She didn't know what to do or what to say. What was going to happen now that the Spymaster knew that she was a mage? Was she going to tell everyone else?<p>

Skylar knew that she should have stayed back there and explained to Leliana the importance of not telling anyone, but the tension had grown so high during the interaction that Skylar just had to get out of there. The moment when she lost control of her magic she knew that the situation was far above her. It didn't matter that everyone thought that Skyar was Andraste's Herald, Skylar was simply Skylar. A small, lost, Viking girl found stuck in a situation that she shouldn't even have any part of in the first place.

The Herald rounded a corner and came to a stop out in the hall somewhere.

Bent at the hips and with her hands on her knees she tried to catch her breath. She honestly didn't know what she was going to do.

This was going to go one of two ways.

Either Leliana was going to drop it and not tell anyone, thinking that it was not a big deal.

Or she was going to do the more likely thing and start asking around and dig to find out more information about Skylar and as a result she would eventually uncover Skylar's deepest darkest secret, that she was nothing more than a barbarian. For Leliana it only came natural to dig for information... The Redhead always had the urge to find out more about someone, even more so than Varric. How Leliana didn't know every single detail about Skylar's life already was nothing short of a miracle.

She stood up straight and looked over her shoulder as she ran her hands though her hair.

Skylar didn't exactly have the time to think about what was going to happen.

She had to leave. She had a mission that needed her immediate attention. The mission couldn't wait at all.

The sooner that Breech was closed the sooner Skylar could vanish without a trace. It would be like the Herald was never there. She didn't know how the people would react to that... Maybe they would think that Skylar really was a saint or something and once her use was used up she vanished. In the mind of the Herald that would be a win win situation for everyone.

Looking around one last time Skylar turned on her heel and ran to where Cassandra said she was going to meet her. But then she stopped dead in her tracks.

No.

She had to do something first.

She was going to be gone for over a week.

A lot of things could happen during that time... Like Leliana telling the wrong person and then the Vikings maybe finding out and hunting down Skylar, thinking that she is in Haven.

There was one thing that Skylar failed to tell the others...

The Vikings wouldn't just come for Skylar.

They would rip Haven apart brick by brick.

Slaughtering anyone in their line of sight.

That is what they do... Anyone who is not a Viking is as good as dead.

Swallowing nervously Skylar scrambled to the library where she hoped she would find a certain Elven mage who was not too happy with her.

Solas didn't like the fact that Skylar chose to hide her true self. He thought she should take the step and embrace the fact that she was a mage. He thought it was a blessing. He didn't understand. No one did.

All except for Bull...

But Bull seemed to be the way he was because he simply did everything Skylar told him to do... In his eyes she was his Boss... So she didn't know if he was just doing the what Skylar said because she told him to or because he respected her beliefs.

"Solas!" Skylar basically ran into the Chantry library as if she was running from a monster.

"Skylar?" Solas's head snapped up and his staff was in his hands within a second. In his mind they were under attack. Skylar was never like this unless something was very wrong. "What's wrong?" He asked as his hand ignited with a flame that he was ready to throw at anyone who dared to attack.

"She knows!" Skylar slammed the door behind her by leaning up against it with her back.

"Excuse me...?" Solas raised a brow. Obviously this was not what he thought this was about.

"Leliana! She knows I am a mage!" She chirped in horror.

"And how does she know this? Did she spy on you?" He asked with a brow raised. "Are the Vikings here?" Solas was indeed concerned but he also was completely confused. Skylar had been so careful... How did the redhead find out? "Does she have people watching you?"

"Not... Exactly..." Skylar began to twiddle her thumbs and look very nervous.

"What happened...?" Solas sighed. He knew that look. That look usually happened when Skylar had a fallout or said something wrong to offend someone because she didn't think about the consequences before.

"Well..." Skylar tilted her head back, whacking it against the door as she groaned. "I went to see her..." She sighed.

"Was that very wise to do?" Solas asked as he set his staff aside and sat down in his arm chair. "If I do recall she was still fuming as of this morning." He said as he tilted his head to the side.

"Obviously not!" Skylar yelped with wide eyes before she began to pace back and forth due to the stress that she was feeling. "I wanted to see if she was ok, everyone is saying how she is acting so weird and wanted me to do something about it! I gave her space for days now and from what everyone has been telling me she has only gotten worse!" She ran her hands through her hair to get it out of her face before she turned to the Elven Mage. "Solas... What do I do? She can't know!" Skylar really was scared. "What if she says something to someone!?" Skylar was actually shaking. "I tried to talk to her but then one thing led to another and she pushed me and then before I knew it I did some kind of force push spell and slammed the door shut on her. Now she knows I am a mage!" Skylar looked like she was about to faint as she brought her hand to her mouth and began to bite on her thumb nail.

"Ok." Solas stood and made his way over to the distraught girl. "First thing you need to do..." He reached forward and pulled Skylar's hand away from her mouth before she could bite her nails off. "Is calm down and breath because it almost looks like you might pass out on me and I do not want to explain why the Herald of Andraste is unconscious in my care." He gave a small chuckle. "And second... How do you know Leliana is going to tell anyone? Do you want me to go and talk to her?" He asked.

Skylar instantly shook her head. "No! I told her not to tell anyone... Before I ran." She coughed slightly and looked away. "The entire thing went bad, I shouldn't have even went near her, obviously she doesn't even so much as like me, the woman doesn't want me near her." Skylar went quiet and bit her lower lip. "I can't have her saying anything to anyone though... But I don't want her to know anything else... Oh god..." Skylar buried her face in her hands and groaned. "I should have just left with Cassandra early... Maybe then this entire thing wouldn't have happened." She ended with a sigh.

"Agreed." Solas shrugged and went back so that he was sitting down in his arm chair.

"What?" Skylar peaked out from between her fingers to look at the Elven mage.

"You shouldn't have gone near her." The mage tilted his head. "What in the world were you thinking, the woman sounded like she was ready to rip your head off from your shoulders this entire week. You're crazy if you thought that by you going to talk to her things would have been... Better." The mage leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together as he looked up at the Herald. "And now that she knows about your little secret... How much does she know?" He asked, ear flicking slightly. "Just that you are a mage or that you are a mage and a barbarian by blood?" He tilted his head.

The way he was talking actually made Skylar's heart sink a tiny bit. "She only knows that I possess magic." She muttered.

"So now it is only a matter of time before she discovers-" The mage jumped slightly as Skylar slammed her marked hand down onto the table before she held it with her opposite hand, obviously regretting her action.

"She won't ever find that out! And if everything had gone my way no one would have known!" She hissed between her clenched teeth. Her face held an expression of pain as she turned away from the mage as she waved her hand a bit. As the days went by the pain came and went as it pleased. Of course the day she chose to slam her hand down was the day her mark chose to make itself known. "You're right though... I shouldn't have gone to her." Skylar ended with a sigh as she placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head back. "I always need to try to fix things... Don't I...? Stupid... Stupid girl." She grumbled to herself.

Solas's ears perked up. "Why do you say that?" He asked with a brow raised.

Skylar turned around and looked at him. "Say what?"

Solas narrowed his eyes and pushed himself up from his chair. "I have heard you say this on more than one occasion." He began as he stepped over to her once more. It looked like he was about to lecture a child. "You have said this when you thought that no one was listening. But I heard it once or twice. 'Stupid girl' Why do you call yourself that?." He asked glaring at her.

"Why do I call myself that...?" Skylar repeated his question with a sigh. "It doesn't matter. All that matters right now is that there is a fuming Redhead who hates my guts probably trying to hunt me down just so she can have someone to yell at. And not only that she now knows one of my darkest secrets... The Spymaster... Knows one of my darkest secrets..." She groaned and ran her hands over her face. "This day can't get any worse."

"Yes it can. Your Viking bloodline could show up at the front doors." Solas pointed out.

"You're not helping." Skylar grumbled.

"Yes well, you must forgive me because you just came to a mage saying to tell me that Leliana know knows one of your 'dark secrets' and that 'dark secret' is that you are a mage... Do you see the problem here? Forgive me if I take offence to this whole interaction." His brows furrowed as he gave Skylar a look.

Skylar shook her head and threw her hands up in the air. "Oh great... I made another mistake!" She wailed as she turned on her heel. "I shouldn't have come here either! I should have just left with Cassandra this morning!" She grumbled.

"Have no fears." Solas called after her. "I will try to keep the Spymaster grounded while you are gone. She will not find out anything else." He promised her. "She may know of the magic, but perhaps I can convince her not to speak to anyone else about it. She doesn't need to know anything else." He waved his hand at her.

Skylar was about to walk away but paused. "Thank you Solas." She murmured as she looked at him over her shoulder. "Maybe try to defuse her too? Heaven knows she won't listen to me..."

"I will see what I can do Herald." Solas said with a nod. "Perhaps I can speak to Bull and Varric to assist me. With Bull's... Charm and Varric's ability to tell stories maybe we can keep her busy while you are gone." The mage shrugged.

"Truth be told, Solas... Don't take this the wrong way but... I really don't care how you do it... Just get her not talk about it to anyone... Too bad we can't just simply erase her memories... Maker knows that would make things a whole hell of a lot easier than this..." Skylar sighed as she stepped out of the room.

Looking up and down the hall to be sure that the Spymaster was not perusing her she took off as fast as she could. Vanishing into the shadows until she was out of the Chantry.

She ran down the steps but just as she was about to round the corner to head down to the stables where Cassandra was waiting for her a hand caught her arm and pulled her to a stop.

With wide eyes and a tiny yelp she came to a dead stop, spinning around to face the one who dared to stop her.

"Forgive me but might I have a minute of your time."

Skylar blinked a few times and looked up to find that Haven's merchant; Seggrit was holding her arm and looking at her with brows furrowed. "Of course." She sputtered as the man let go of her arm. She stood up straight and tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. "Is something wrong?" There was concern in her voice. "If this is about your business... I'm sorry. But during times like these selling things in this area is hard to do... And a bandit raid was something we all didn't expect. I promise that after all of this is settled and done you will be compensated." She tried with a little apologetic smile.

Understandingly the man had voiced his complaints after the Bandit raid. Most of his wares had been destroyed or stolen and it was after this that the people of the village realized that hey didn't need to actually rely on the money pinching merchant for produce. They were able to live off the land. Villagers volunteered to go hunting, Skylar had been one of those volunteers as well. People even discovered that they were able to break the ice of the lake and fish, which left Seggrit with next to no business.

"That is now why I stopped you, My Lady." He shook his head before he bowed slightly. "I couldn't help but to notice how high the tension has been all throughout Haven this past week." He explained as he looked around.

"Yes well... A bandit raid would usually do that to people." Skylar said with a shrug. "A lot happened and we can't really blame everyone if they are on their toes."

"What about that man with the horns?" Seggrit arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. "The Qunari, is he staying here?" The Merchant suddenly had a look of extreme disapproval on his face.

"Bull?" Skylar blinked. "Yes, he is." She nodded. "He has been helping keep Haven safe."

"He just seems... I don't know, I don't trust him." Seggrit shook his head. "I don't like new faces and his I especially don't like." His voice was low and had a bit of a warning tone to it.

"That man has helped keep this place safe, I have nothing more to say on this matter, I have some very important business to attend to." Skylar shook her head and walked away.

"Wait!" The Merchant reached out again and grabbed Skylar's upper arm.

The Herald was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the way he kept grabbing her.

"Leliana, how is she?" Seggrit asked.

Upon hearing the redhead's name Skylar tilted her head to the side. "She's..." Skylar didn't know how to answer that. "She is very busy at the moment, we are all very busy and we are all very stressed if you need to talk to the Spymaster about something she is in Josephine's office for the time being... Now..." Skylar placed her hand on top of Seggrit's and gently pulled it away from her arm. "I really do need to go... I have to travel somewhere on horseback and I really want to be cover as much ground before dark... Have a good day, Seggrit." Skylar gave the man a little bow before she walked off as fast as she could towards the entrance of Haven.

She didn't catch the way that the Merchant was looking at her. The man had a cold stare before he turned his head towards the Chantry. And she didn't hear how he muttered how he was going to pay the Spymaster a bit of a visit later on that day.

Instead all Skylar focused on was getting up in her saddle. Cassandra gave her a odd look when she realized how pale Skylar was.

"Are you ill?" Cassandra asked her with a brow raised as she patted the side of her horse's neck.

"N-No." Skylar stuttered as she took the reins in her hands. "I just want to get on the road before dark." She muttered quietly before she ordered her horse to start moving.

With a little shrug Cassandra followed the Herald knowing full and well they wouldn't arrive at their destination for at least two day's time.

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><p><strong>Ok I know this chapter is a little shorter and a little more rushed than the others. I mainly wanted to get something up since I haven't updated in a while. I am working on the next chapter as we speak...<strong>

**XD As you can see... Solas is going to put his two words in since his strength his is mind... Varric... His tongue... But as for Bull... Can you imagine what the big mean Qunari is going to do?**

**Hm...**

**We are about to find out...**

**What do you guys think Bull is going to do when he finds out how distressed his poor little boss is?**

**Lemme know what you think!**

**See ya next time! X3**


	11. Shadow

**GAH! I am so sorry for the delay in my updates! I got tied down with back to back skill testing and exams at school. x.x It is safe to say that these past two weeks haven't been easy on me either... I didn't do so well on my testing cause of the stress built up from my other classes... Yeah things are not looking too good on my end right now... So to blow off some steam I am writing a chapter.**

**Oh! **

**I have also completed the game and It is safe to say I am going to incorporate some huge changes into this story. XD I loved the game but there are a few... Things... That could have been done differently. You will discover those thing as you keep reading. **

**You will also discover that this little writer has a HUGE imagination once she puts her pen to the paper. **

**I hope you guys enjoy.**

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><p>"Dammit!" Leliana hissed, pushing herself away from her desk and rushing to the door.<p>

Stunned.

Leliana had been stunned for... She didn't even know how long. She just simply couldn't seem to be able to process what happened. Now she knew exactly what she had to do but she had to be quick.

Running out the door and into the hall, Leliana paused to bring her hand to her mouth where she chewed on her thumbnail right through her glove for a second. "Where did you go...?" She breathed. This couldn't be happening! She couldn't let the Herald go like this! Obviously Leliana had seen something Skylar had not wanted anyone to see and now she has ran off somewhere to hide! Or worse! Run away like she kept saying she wanted to so badly.

"No, no, no." Leliana shook her head and began to search high and low.

The first place Leliana checked was the Herald's room. All she had to do was open the door and take one step inside to know that the smaller girl was not there. That room was fairly small, she would have been able to see her the moment she opened the door. It was empty, no Skylar to be seen.

Next she checked the war map room, at many times Skylar had been found leaning over the map with stress clear on her face, sometimes people thought she was just trying to understand how to read it, but then if you looked hard enough you would realize that it was fear on her face, fear of making the wrong move and sending good soldiers to their deaths...

The girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders...

Why was this all just catching up with Leliana now?

It was like now that Leliana finally caught a glimpse of something their beloved Herald was hiding, something that made her look... Not so perfect, like the world lead everyone to believe... Leliana was able to think of Skylar and realize that the girl was only human, just like the rest of them. And that thought alone not only scared Leliana but made her feel sick to her stomach as well.

So human and yet so... Divine.

Cursing under her breath Leliana slammed the door shut and ran her hands through her hair, pulling down her hood in the process.

Where could she had gone?

"Skylar!" Leliana finally just called through the Chantry. Calling her like that was the absolute last thing Leliana normally would have done to when she was looking for someone. But now she was desperate. Something was wrong, Skylar ran, and now Leliana was fearing the worst, had she driven Skylar to her breaking point with her bad attitude? And then the final straw, pushing Skylar to the point that Leliana saw a secret?

The Spymaster prayed that the Herald was just simply hiding due to the overwhelming stress Leliana dropped on her shoulders.

"You won't find her." A monotone sounding male voice called out to her.

Leliana raised a brow as she turned to find a pointed ear mage leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't have a very pleased look on his face as he stared the Spymaster down with what looked like a challenging look in his eyes.

"And why not?" The redhead took up his challenge with a sharp glare.

"Because she's gone." Solas shrugged. He had a dark look in his eye as he lightly pushed himself away from the wall and began to slowly circle the Spymaster, not once did his eyes leave her's. "Why?... Is there a problem?" He asked with a low, testing voice.

Leliana opened her mouth to say something but then she closed it and narrowed her eyes. "There is no problem at all, I just have to speak to the Herald as soon as possible, it's urgent that I find her." She shot back.

"Well... Our little Herald left in a big hurry not to long ago, on the back of a horse in fact." Solas rubbed his chin and tilted his head to the side. "She seemed very troubled and stressed, scared even... You don't know anything about that do you?" He asked with a slight raise of a brow.

Upon hearing this Leliana's heart instantly felt like it stopped for a few seconds. "She... Left?" The Spymaster blinked. "Did she say where she was going or when she was going to be back?" Her words were far faster than she intended them to be. But the say the Elvian mage described Skylar... She was worried. "Where has she gone to?" Leliana pressed once more. He knew something and she was not going to let him stand between her and Skylar. Not when tension was so high.

Solas narrowed his eyes even more once he was standing directly in front of Leliana. He looked her straight in the eye. Shoulders squared. "She has gone away on business and most likely will not be back for at least a week, maybe even more. She is accompanied by Cassandra." Solas went silent for a moment before he shook his head. "I do not know what is wrong with you, Spymaster. But I think you need to be reminded that Skylar as the weight of our world weighing down on her... She does not need any more added stress. I have to admit... I don't know how she hasn't crumbled yet, but who knows... Maybe she is one little crack away from finally hitting the breaking point she so badly deserves... Get off her back. Try to make things a bit easier for her... Don't do anything that could make her life even harder than it already is. And if that is hard to do... Think of it like this... How many lives are in her hands at the moment... What would happen if those hands were suddenly gone?"

The mage's words were like a dagger. She definitely felt like he knew something more but obviously she was not in a position where she could question him any further. "I would never do anything to harm Skylar." Leliana's voice was low. "My job is to assist her any way I can and help her restore the word to it's former glory." She suddenly went monotone.

"Then you know that there are certain things that shouldn't be said, you know that if certain... Secrets hit the ears of the wrong people everything could shatter like glass." He took a step back, hoping she could understand those words.

The Spymaster opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out.

"I hope that we have an understanding." Solas grumbled as he took a step back from her. "We need to do everything in our power so that our Herald can complete her quest with as few difficulties as possible."

Leliana didn't even have time to say anything before Solas turned on his heel and left the Spymaster alone.

"You know something..." She grumbled under her breath. While she had many more questions she did realized that there was a good chance that Skylar didn't just simply run off after all... Now that she knew that Cassandra was with her she let herself relax a bit, but knowing that it would be at least a week before she would see her again...

"Maker..." She shook her head and ran her hand through her hair. She couldn't wrap her head around any of this...

Looking over her shoulder when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to stand up she turned to find the Qunari... He was leaning against a wall with his amazingly thick arms crossed over his chest. His one good eye was staring her down. The giant of a man was chewing on something.

Why did Leliana feel like she was left out of the loop about something...

Straightening her back she shook her head and stormed her way back to the office that Josephine let her use for the day. Along the way she grabbed the arm of one of her agents and basically dragged him into the room where she shut and locked the door.

"Spymaster?" The agent blinked.

"Shush, don't talk. What ever orders you have right now, drop them on the desk and I will pass them onto someone else. I have a new mission for you. A personal one that need immediate attention. I cannot do this one myself because I believe that I might be being watched..." Leliana sat down in the chair. She leaned her elbows on the surface of the desk and and clasped her hands together in front of her face in thought.

The Agent, a little confused with what was going on just stood there and listened. If it was so important that he had to drop his current orders to do this then it must have been something very important...

"I need you to take a team with you and shadow the Herald... I need you to make sure she is safe on whatever mission she is on... From what I can remember... Cassandra is with her, I remember Cassandra talking about going to recruit the Templars and to do that they would need a connection from the Chantry... They would need to go to Val Royeaux to do that." She nodded as she spoke. That was exactly where they were going... Thinking about it made Leliana's stomach twist.

"Go now, DO NOT LET HER SEE YOU! If you do this right she will never know that I had her shadowed." Leliana stood and pointed towards the door. "No one except you and the few you take will know about this, understand?" Her voice was suddenly hard.

The Agent gave a nod and made his way for the door.

Something in the pit of her stomach told Leliana that this week was going to be very interesting...

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><p><strong>Well after over a week of silence I have finally coughed up a chapter. <strong>

**I am going to try to keep going but my mind is so full of stress right now it's like I am trying to walk on glass. **

**I hope these exams end soon... x.x They just exhaust me...**


	12. The Horrors of Orlais

The road to Val Royeaux was an exhausting one. But at least the horseback part was over... Skylar and Cassandra boarded a ship that would take them straight to where they needed to go about a day ago. They expected to arrive that day now. All Skylar wanted to do was finish the mission and go home. She was exhausted. Not once during that entire trip had been been able to sleep. Her mind was far too active. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened back in Haven with Leliana.

Could Skylar trust her?

She honestly didn't know...

"You're mind is elsewhere." Skylar almost jumped over the rail and into the water below. But thankfully instead she turned to find Cassandra standing behind her with her head tilted to the side and the look of concern on her face.

"I don't like water." Skylar blurted out before she turned around.

She didn't know how many times Cassandra has asked her if something was wrong during the trip.

"Many great warriors have fears." Cassandra stood beside her and watched the waves. "I trained with people who had fears such as mice, the dark, heights... And yes even water." She gave a smirk and looked at Skylar who had a brow raised. "Fearing something doesn't make you any less of a person."

Skylar's eyes suddenly went wide. Did she think that the reason Skylar was acting the way she had been acting is because she thought that Skylar was nervous about traveling by boat...?

Actually that was true. Skylar didn't like the water and she would be lying if she did say that she wasn't at all nervous. "I haven't been on a boat for a very long time." Skylar's hands leaned on the rails as she looked over the waves. The thought of falling into the waters did in fact scare her, what would be waiting for her beneath that surface? Death?

Cassandra nodded and looked as though she was about to say something, until Skylar spoke again.

"How do you think the others are doing? Back in Haven?" Skylar bit her lower lip as her brow furrowed. Haven was where her worries were lying and if she could she would turn that boat around and they would go right back...

"Haven?" Cassandra arched a brow. "Are you still nervous about leaving the village after the raid?" She asked as she turned to look at Skylar. She leaned her hip against the railing and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Aren't you?" Skylar challenged as she turned her head to look at Cassandra. She knew that the scarred woman would be lying if she said no. "A lot happened, I think lots of people are still on edge and maybe a few are still healing from the events..." She turned away from her with a sigh. "Some of the worst wounds are the ones that we cannot see with the naked eye." Her voice was just a low murmur.

The Seeker blinked and looked off in the distance. "This is... True..." She nodded. "I chose not to think about it too hard, there is just so much to do and worrying about something like this would make everything seem heavier." She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow. "But... Now that you mention it... I think worrying about the people is a good thing, it keeps you on your toes." The Seeker chuckled and sighed before she patted Skylar on the shoulder. "We will return to the village soon. Do not worry, we are almost done here. Look." Cassandra pointed to the front of the boat and sure enough Val Royeaux was in sight. "I think it's best that we gather our things and ready ourselves... I don't think the Chantry will be too happy with us once we tell them our request."

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><p>The sensation she felt the first time her feet met dry land was a little odd. Perhaps it was because she spent over a day on that boat, sloshing, tipping, side to side, and now that she was standing on hard cobble stone everything was suddenly completely still.<p>

"To think... We have to go back on that boat when we are done here." Skylar tilted her head back and groaned.

Cassandra couldn't help but to chuckle at the sight of her Herald complaining about something as simple as traveling on a ship. "Come on, the sooner we find the Chantry mother the sooner we can ask about the Templars and the sooner we can go back to Haven." She gave Skylar a light pat on the shoulder before she walked on ahead.

Skylar followed Cassandra, she seemed to know exactly where to go.

The Herald looked around and couldn't help to notice just how many people were looking at them. "Cass... I think they know who we are..." She whispered when she spotted a woman who nearly tripped over her own two feet when she saw them. The woman screamed and ran in the opposite direction.

"Indeed, they do." Cassandra grumbled.

"Their scared of me." Skylar murmured with a brow furrowed.

Cassandra spared her Herald a side eye glance. "Lots of people fear power... Power in which you possess."

"But this... Power is what is helping them... Isn't it?" Skylar asked with a confused look on her face.

"Yes... But it is also a power that they know next to nothing about, you can't really blame them for fearing the unknown." The Seeker gave a little shrug as they continued on.

"Look!" Skylar pointed out towards what looked like a stage when the reached the heart of the city. There on the stage was the same chantry mother that they were looking for, what ever she was talking about attracted a crowed and judging by how everyone suddenly went quiet and looked towards the Herald and the Seeker made both the travelers realize that maybe they should have brought more people with them...

"This... Doesn't look good." Cassandra whispered.

"YOU!" The Chantry mother pointed towards Skylar. "YOU DARE step onto this land with your witchcraft and think you may have the authority to do anything you want here! You might as well just turn around and walk out the same way you came! Nothing you say will change anything!"

"What are you talking about!?" Skylar barked right back.

"You are the cause of all this! You dare to call yourself Andrastre's Herald! All I see is a common thug! THE thug who opened the giant hole in the sky! You brought monsters into this world! Why no one has dealt with you yet is beyond me!" The Changty mother squabbled on but Skylar turned her out by pinching the bridge of her nose and turning to Cassandra.

"She sounds like that Clerk back in Haven..." She murmured.

Cassandra nodded. "If I didn't know any better I would say that our little clerk may have sent a bird or two with ill written words here before we arrived..." Cassandra clenched her fists and shook her head. "You must listen to us, this Herald has done nothing but help the world with the mark she bares! She has closed rifts with it! She has helped people! She has done nothing wrong at all! You would be insane not to aide her in her quest to make things right!" Cassandra's words were strong but that didn't change the look on the chantry mother's face.

"I don't think it matters what you say to this woman..." Skylar whispered as she looked around. "Everyone's minds are made up here..." Skylar's brow was arched as she continued to look around. "I think by us coming here we have made a huge mistake..."

Cassanra shook her head. "We are trying to save them, if they don't listen to use then they will die."

Cassandra looked as though she was in a trance as she continued to argue and debate with the chantry mother.

But Skylar kept looking around. Something just wasn't right...

It was like everything around her slowed down and all sounds were unheard... She could hear her own heartbeat in her ears as she scanned the crowd. Everyone's eyes were still on her and she felt like she was drowning. She couldn't breath. She needed to get out of there. But why wasn't her feet moving. No something was still wrong.

Just as her head began to spin her eyes caught sight of a shine.

Armor.

There was a group of solders making their way through the crowd.

They were Templars.

Their swords were drawn.

At first Skylar thought they were there to attack them.

But no.

Skylar was wrong.

Her eyes widened and she reached for Cassandra. "Cass!" She yelped when she watched helplessly as the templars marched onto the stage with their swords high in the air.

The Chantry mother didn't even know what hit her. Her voice rang out with hate and fury towards the Herald with a sentence that didn't finish.

The crowd was screaming in horror and now running in all different directions, trying to get as far away from their so called 'beloved Templars' as possible.

Cassandra and Skylar stood where they were as the head of a Chantry mother rolled down the steps and onto the concrete ground with a blank expression on her features. All fury towards Skylar was gone, dead eyes stared the Herald down as the dark voice of a Templar wielding a blood soaked sword rang out through Val Royeaux.

She felt someone tugging on her arm, she was being pulled down a dark alley. She couldn't think. Her head felt like it was being held beneath the surface of water and her ears felt like they were full of the liquid. No matter how hard she shook her head nothing she did could clear her mind.

She could hear someone calling her name in the distance but she couldn't focus.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

But then her head snapped to the side and her cheek was burning and suddenly everything was clear, like someone had just yanked her head out of the water.

Blinking a few times Skylar finally took a breath.

How long had she been holding her breath for? Her lungs were burning.

"Wah?" The Herald blinked and shook her head.

"Oh thank the maker." Cassandra was pulling her glove back onto her hand. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of any other way of bringing you back." She explained with a apologetic look on her face.

Skylar's brow furrowed in confusion but she didn't get the chance to ask what she was talking about.

"She means that she just slapped you silly because you looked like some emotionless Tranquil!" A snort rang out before a giggle.

Skylar rubbed her cheek as her brows furrowed. "Oh..." She looked up at a blond haired elf. "Eh... Who are you?" She asked blinking in confusion once more.

"Sera, your new best friend." The blond giggled with a soft snort. "See! I told you she isn't brain dead!"

"Oh Shut it!" Cassandra grumbled. "She came out of nowhere and helped me get you out of there. The Templars have just assassinated a Chantry mother! Lord Seeker Lucius, a man I once knew, he slayed a Chantry mother! And he is now leading the Templars away from the Chantry! They don't care about the Chantry anymore... They have... Revolted..." Cassandra pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "This is just too much... I thought there might be a chance that the Chantry and the Templars would send us away... I didn't think they would actually rise up against the Inquisition! They think the Inquisition is nothing but..."

Sera but in with a chirp. "Posers? They think you are all posers and think that a band of Rogue Templars can do a better job." She shrugged.

"Basically... I would have put it a different way... But yes..." Cassandra shot Sera a look.

Skylar shook her head and tried to clear her thoughts, there was just so much she was trying to process but at the time... "Sera... Where did you come from?" The only thing she could really pay attention to was that she had a very odd elf looking at her with what seemed to be... Puppy eyes?

"I came from a dark alley to help you, yes cause now the Inquisition has the best damn rogue you can find! The mighty Sera! And her band of Red Jennies are going to assist the inquisition!" The elf made it sound like it was her life long goal.

"The more the merrier." Skylar blinked. She totally was not thinking straight.

"You can't be serious..." Cassandra sighed.

"Well... We can't just go after them alone can we?" Skylar asked with a tilt of her head.

"What?" The Seekers eyes went wide.

"What? Did you think we were going to simple let them walk away? We can't do that! There is a murderer out there! We don't have time to go all the way back to Haven!" Skylar shakily made her way to her feet. It was only a few seconds ago she realized that she was sitting on the ground.

"That is actually a very good point." Sera nodded. "I have friends who might still be around, If I can catch them we might have a small army to come with us to take down the big bad ugly with the weird nose!"

"Oh dear maker..." Cassandra turned away from the two and rubbed her forehead. "Ok... IF you can find your friends to take with us than I will agree with this craziness... But if you can't and we have to go in there alone... We won't stand a chance." She sighed and tilted her head back before she turned around to find that Sera was gone.

"Where did she go?" Cassandra yelped.

All Skylar could do was point up.

Cassandra looked up and sighed. "The girl can scale walls... How... Interesting. I will send a raven back to Haven to tell the others of the news. Perhaps Leliana has agents close by she could send our way. Come." She motioned for Skylar to follow her so they could find a messenger bird.

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><p><strong>So I felt bad about giving a chapter that was like 1000 words long, I wanted to leave you guys with a good idea of what is going on before another long wait happens. I don't think you guys will have to wait as long for the next update but with what is going on in my life at the moment I have no idea what to expect. <strong>

**XD**

**Poor Leliana and Skylar... Now the wait may have been doubled before they can see each other again to make things right!**

**Let me know what you guys think! I always love to hear your opinions! **

**Also! If you guys want to leave a question for me in a review feel free to do so! I will most likely answer it in my blurb either before or after each chapter!**

**Don't be afraid to ask questions! I will always answer them!**

**R&R **

**And I hope you guys are loving what I have written so far!**

**Peace!**


	13. She Shall Be Mine

**Hello everyone!**

**I am happy to report that I managed to dodge the bullet and passed my exam with of 90%! You would not believe how much weight has been lifted off my shoulders knowing that I didn't fail it. I still have a long way to go in this course but it seems as long as I work hard and continue to study I will do ok. XD I just have to keep dodging those bullets. **

**And to those who feel like I am being modest when I don't look too excited about getting a 90%, I really am, but keep in mind anything below an 80% in my course for certain classes is considered a fail. So while I love the fact I got a 90% (I'm a gal who got 60s and 50s in high school...) ... I would love to have gotten way higher that score, that way I would have had a safety line if I did happen to score lower than 80 on any of my exams. XD Oh the stress of an education...**

**ANYWAYS! It seems that everyone totally loves my Viking idea in this story! You have no idea how happy I am to hear that! And knowing that everyone loves this idea tells me that you guys are going to love what I have in store for you. Things are gong to start getting very interesting. I just completed the game recently and I must say... It's time to throw in some twists and turns. **

**Poor Leliana... XD I agree with one of my comments I received... She is totally going to have a heart attack or something when she hears about the kind of trouble our little Skylar is getting into... **

**And after you have read this chapter you will find that certain nerves are going to start to be plucked...**

**I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!**

**I was so happy that I passed that I felt the need to add another chapter before I didn't have time to write anymore this week!**

**P.S... If there is ever a week or two where you guys don't hear from me I will ALWAYS make it up to my readers. I love you guys and know how loyal you are... Your loyalty will be rewarded with my loyalty. Either I will give you huge chapters or multiple chapters in one day. Either way I will find ways to make it up to you guys if that happens, that is a promise!**

**:3**

**Oh... And a quick warning to those who are faint of heart, things are starting to get darker now in this story. **

**Description of drowning and suffocation is mentioned, so if you happen to be someone who can't stand the thought of something like that this is your warning that you should proceed with caution. **

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><p>Legs shaking, feet aching... So tired... She didn't know how long they had been tracking them... At some point they had to leave the horses that they purchased behind. The trails that they were taking were simply too hard on them.<p>

An entire day went by.

But somehow...

But they made it.

They found their headquarters and they were instantly greeted by what seemed like an army. They had been waiting for the Inquisition to show.

They were either going to convince the Templars to lay down their arms and work for the Inquisition or face the consequence of murder.

On the outside she looked very confident but on the inside she felt like she was going to be sick.

A few agents and a small army of red Jennys went with them after the Templars. They managed to catch up with them and corner them in a castle. From what Skylar could tell something was very wrong. At least half of the Templar seemed very uneasy and nervous about their leader; Lucius.

So he ordered his Templars to attack, to punish the Herald of Andraste for posing as a holy demi god! Many of the Templars looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces, but of course they followed their orders.

"I'm going after Lucius!" Skylar called out before she charged. Cassandra reached her hand towards Skylar and called after her, but she had already taken off through the crowd with Sera close behind.

"Come on!" Sera motioned for Cassandra to follow before she chased after the little Herald who seemed to be dodging every attack that was thrown at her.

Somehow the only weapon Skylar carried on her was a single sword that was about 3/4 of her arm. She would block attacks with that blade as well as attack.

A Templar came out of nowhere and slammed his shield directly into Skylar sending her into a wall, the moment where Skylar felt the impact she swore that not only did she feel her ribs break but heard them as well. But she didn't get time to worry about her injury, his sword aimed directly at her chest. To him she seemed like a clean, easy kill. Skylar didn't seem like a big threat. But somehow just before his sword met it's mark the blade missed, almost as if a unseen force pushed the blade to the side so it connected with the wall instead.

Both Cassandra and Sera had the looks of sheer terror on their faces as they charged the Templar who dared to try and harm the Herald. Cassandra drove her blade into his helmet as Sera shot arrows at anyone who tried to help him.

Skylar was still leaning against the wall with her hand on her chest. Such a close call did in fact scare her a bit, but she was thankful no one caught the glow in her eyes as the blade mysteriously missed.

Skylar looked to the side and caught sight of lord Lucius at the top of a flight of stairs. He was looking at Skylar with a sick look in his eyes, and not only that... He was smiling!?

"There!" Skylar yelped as she pointed up at the Templar leader who was casucally walking away.

Cassandra looked up in time to catch sight of him. "DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" She wailed. "IF WE LOSE HIM THAN WE HAVE LOST THIS BATTLE!" Cassandra's voice was full of desperation.

"I'll get em..." Sera was aiming her arrow at his head but Cassandra slapped her bow completely ruining her aim. She shot Cassandra a death glare, how dare this woman ruin her perfect shot!

"No! We need him alive..." The Seeker's voice was basically a growl.

"She's right." Skylar nodded. "Come on!" And with that the Herald charged up the stairs at full speed with her two companions close behind.

Skylar nearly tripped over her own two feet once she finally reached the top of the stairs. "You!" She growled when she saw that the man's back was to her. "You will be punished for your crimes!" She pointed her sword towards him but still Lucius would not face her.

Confused, Skylar raised a brow but didn't lower her blade, instead she reached up and pulled her hood down to get a better look just as Cassandra and Sera were at her sides. "What's wrong with him?" The Herald grumbled in a low voice.

The sounds of battle raged on behind them and Skylar knew that it had to end soon!

"Admit defeat!" Skylar stormed forward towards Lucian. "End this madness! No one else has to die! Your Temlars shouldn't have to-" Skylar yelped as Lucian whipped around to face her.

His hands locked around her upper arms and pulled her towards his own body in an instant.

Both Cassandra and Sera cried out in surprise, anger, disgust and fury as they watched as Lord Lucian pull Skylar against him and force his lips against her's.

Skylar's eyes were wide with shock before she tried to shoot her arm out so her knuckles could connect with his face. But then she realized that she didn't have the strength to lift her arm. It was like the kiss was draining her of her own energy. Her sword clattered to the ground as her vision began to blur. What was going on? Why couldn't she move!? Why did it feel like every ounce of energy was being sucked clean out of her.

A small groan was all that could be heard from Skylar as Lord Lucius pulled Skylar so tightly against his own body as her two companions rushed forward, trying desperately to get Skylar away from him. But the moment they drew too close a very violent unseen force knocked them clean off their feet.

"You're mine now!" Lucius laughed after he pulled away long enough to chuckle before he grabbed Skylar's face and pulled her against him, only this time as soon as their bodies made contact, Lord Lucius vanished into thin air, or at least that is what it seemed like.

Skylar felt everything. She felt like all of the air was knocked clean out of her lungs, she felt him invade her senses, she felt him turn to dust and crawl inside her soul, straight into Skylar's being. He was in her mind.

She struggled to stay on her feet.

Bringing a hand up to her forehead her entire body began to shake violently.

"SKYLAR!?" Cassandra wailed. For the first time the Seeker abandoned her sword and shield and ran to Skylar's side. "Skylar look at me!" Cassandra stood in front of the girl, her face cupped in her hands, desperately trying to get her attention. But what Cassandra saw made her heart nearly stop dead in her chest from sheer Terror. Skylar's eyes were glazed over. The light blue eyes she had grown used to were... Gone. No pupils, no color... Her eyes were grey. Empty, hollow, haunted... And scared.

The Seeker gave her a rough shake to try and bring her back. "Skylar!" She screamed. They couldn't lose the Herald! NOT LIKE THIS!?

"What's wrong with her!?" Sera's voice was frightened. "What happened!? Did that weirdo bloody... He kissed her! Where did he go!?" She looked around.

"He's... Lord Seeker... He... Vanished inside her, he turned to smoke and... I don't know!" Cassandra looked as if she was about to panic as Skylar looked like she was lost in some kind of trance. "We... We need to get her back to Haven! Solas! He knows about... This kind of stuff!"

"Oh sure, so we just need to climb over that army of Templars and carry her all the way to Haven? No problem! Lead the way!" Sera crossed her arms over her chest.

Cassandra was about to snap at her But then Skylar snapped away from Cassandra in a frantic rage, pushing anyone who got near her away.

She felt like she was going to be sick, she felt like her body was suddenly at war with itself, she felt like something was inside her, something that shouldn't be there. Her heart was hurting, her mind was spinning, she couldn't think. His voice, his laugh, his sick smile, his dirty, razor sharp claws were tearing her mind apart! He was taking her apart piece by piece! He was looking for something inside her mind! What was he looking for!?

"Get... OUT!" Skylar's hands were on either side of her head as she screamed in agony. She shook her head side to side, as if she was trying to get water out of her ears. She dug her nails into her hair as she screamed. She had to get him out! If he didn't she feared she would lose herself.

Panic.

She couldn't stay calm!

Not when there was another person inside her head!

Falling to her knees as if she suddenly forgot how to use her own two legs she cried out once more. Her eyes were screwed shut and she curled into herself.

She felt like someone was pulling her beneath ice cold water. The more he pulled the harder it was to stay awake. Her vision was growing darker with every pull.

_"YOU'RE MINE! MINE! YOUR BODY WILL BE MINE!" _His violent voice echoing inside her skull drowned out the voices of the ones who were trying to pull her back.

He was too strong.

He was winning.

Skylar's face was cold against the stone of the ground.

How did she get down there? Her body must have grown too weak to hold itself up, even if she was on her knees at some point.

Skylar tried one last time to fight against his pull, maybe just maybe she would be able to regain some leverage and pull herself away, but despite everything she was pulled completely under and into the black where the only sounds that could be heard was his laugh echoing in her ears and dark promises of how she would never see the light of day again. Because Skylar was his, and his alone. Her body was his, her mind was his to tear apart, he would memorize ever single detail about her. And he would become her. Skylar was his vessel... The only thing left to do was to destroy every last thing about her from the inside out before he could completely take over.

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><p><strong>I am going to leave it at that for tonight. X3 Hopefully I will be able to continue on with the story either tomorrow or sometime this week. <strong>

**I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. **

**Let me know what you guys think, and thank you so much for the support during my exams!**


	14. The War Inside Her Mind

**Things are getting crazy now! Time to turn up the heat! **

**Leliana is going to be soooooo maaaad!**

**XD I see people are paying attention to the stolen kiss in the last chapter. **

**How do you guys think Leliana is going to react when she finds out?**

**O.O I wonder how Skylar is going to feel when she remembers. **

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><p>"I refuse to believe this!" Leliana slammed her hands down before she shook her head. "How could they be so... STUPID!?"<p>

"You better believe it. Cassandra wouldn't send a letter like this unless she was serious." Cullen murmured with brows furrowed. "And by the way she makes it sound... I don't think that they had much of a choice in the matter, it looks like their choices were to let Lord Lucius get away or go after him, and seeing as how a Chantry mother was literally decapitated in broad daylight in front of everyone... No, Cassandra would not just let that slide, she wouldn't risk giving that man a chance to get away."

Two ravens had been sent in the duration of two days. One explaining that they were going after Lord Lucius and they were going to bring him back alive to answer for his crimes. And then the next explaining something went wrong and that they needed help with Skylar. Something went wrong and she now was completely unresponsive. They wanted to bring the Herald back to Haven to Solas because the Seeker believe that Solas was the only one who may be able to help her, because he possessed his 'Special' talents. Cassandra also explained that somehow Lord Lucius was gone and they did win the battle against the Templars. Many of which were being held prisoner in the cells within the castle they were at.

"So... The Herald is unfit for travel but she needs immediate attention... The only thing we can do is go to where she is." Solas murmured as he took the letter in his hands. He could feel that something was very wrong, something more than just a simple injury. He feared that dark magic might have been involved.

"But they are day's away!" Leliana exclaimed with wide eyes. "If something really is wrong with her and she doesn't have much time we would never make it!" Leliana looked as though she was about to have a fit! How dare they make this kind of decision on their own! They knew exactly what kind of risk they were taking when they went after Lucius alone!

"Not... Exactly..." An Agent of Leliana's walked into the war room with his head down. "We have special steeds that run faster than any horse. They do not have the need to breath as often like a horse would as they gallop, so these creatures don't have the need to rest as often. We use them a lot to do many of our missions mainly because they are almost completely silent, they don't have hooves but instead claws which help with climbing over obstacles." He looked up at his Spymaster who's eyes went wide.

"Of course." Leliana breathed, slapping her own forehead. "The shadow steeds... Why did I forget about those..." She grumbled to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head at herself.

"Because we only have two left at the moment. We've been trying to help them survive but in the midst of all the chaos lots of the other agents have been targeted by bandits and demons... It's not likely they will survive the trip, there is the chance that they will become a running target because they are so unique and their hides sell for a fortune. But if you must use them to save the Herald then I say you should do so, quickly." His brow furrowed.

"Alright." Leliana nodded and turned to Solas. "Solas, you come with me. The rest of you keep Haven safe while we are gone." The Spymaster ordered.

"And who put you in charge?" Iron Bull was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and his eye narrowed at Leliana. "What makes you think I am going to let YOU go to Skylar. She is my boss remember? I should be the one who goes." He whacked his chest with the side of his fist and grunted.

"Alright then." Leliana turned to him with a glare of her own. "You want to go save Skylar?" She asked with a smug tilt of her head.

"It's my duty. She hired me so it's my job to keep her alive." He snarled.

"Ok." Leliana shrugged with a still quite smug look oh her face. "Come with me." She turned on her heel and motioned for both Solas and Iron Bull to follow her.

Iron Bull looked at Solas who gave a shrug. They both knew why they didn't want Leliana to be the one to go to Skylar with Solas. Iron Bull and Solas discussed what happened and the reason why they couldn't let anyone else know about Skylar's little secret. Especially the spymaster. Leliana just had too much history with digging for secrets and using those secrets to blackmail for Solas and Iron Bull's liking.

At that point both Bull and Solas were on high alert around Leliana.

The Redhead kept to herself almost the entire time Skylar was away but now that they had an update on how the mission was going Leliana was the first to react. And from what Solas and Iron Bull could tell, Leliana was ready to throttle Skylar.

Solas and the Qunari followed the Spymaster out and to the stables. Two steeds were guided out before Leliana stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a 'Just try it' Look on her face.

When Solas and Iron Bull saw these Shadow Steeds they were very surprised to find that these creatures were actually very small. They looked like they were skin and bone.

"Now do you see why most of my agents are... Small people?" Leliana asked as she ran her hand over the head of one of the steeds. Almost instantly the creature leaned it's hairless head into Leliana's hand. The Spymaster smiled. She had a soft spot for all animals. "These creatures would never be able to carry someone of your stature, Bull." Leliana turned to Iron Bull. "The moment you sit on it's back I suspect that this creature would quite literally snap like a twig.

Iron Bull looked like his face went a dark shade of crimson. This was something he never expected. "Well... I don't usually ride on the back of a steed, but if I do usually my steeds are very large... This is... Not what I was expecting at all..." He rubbed the back of his neck and shot Solas a look.

Leliana looked at the two men and sighed. "Listen, we are wasting valuable time here! Solas, either get on the steed or I will hog tie you and drag you the entire way myself." Something in the Spymaster's eye told the mage that she wasn't lying.

"Alright!" Solas sighed and hopped onto the back of his steed. "I will follow your lead, Spymaster." Solas spared Iron Bull a glance.

"I guess I will stay here and help guard the village." Bull grumbled as his arms dropped to his sides. He looked helpless. He didn't trust the Spymaster at all. Inside he was praying nothing else would go wrong... If the Herald died... Well... Iron Bull lived in this world too. He wouldn't be left unaffected by her death.

Leliana climbed onto the back of her steed and nodded. "Be sure no more bandits come into Haven. I am certain when we return all three of us will need to have a discussion to get some things out in the open, yes? I can see how you two look at each other like you are hiding something... Here's the thing, if you want to be part of the Inquisition, secrets need to be out in the open for us to be able to trust you." And with that Leliana spurred her steed and rode off at an alarming fast speed.

Solas swallowed nervously and glanced at Iron Bull one last time. "Things... Are about to get very complicated, I assume..." Was the last thing he said before his steed took off after Leliana.

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><p>It was dark and cold.<p>

She was lost.

She was scared.

She was so very alone.

Where was she supposed to go?

Was anyone missing her?

So many questions... So little answers...

Curled up on the ground with her hood pulled so over her head that it shielded her eyes was Skylar. Trembling in fear. She felt so vulnerable, so broken, so small. She refused to open her eyes. She could hear things, voices, it made her feel sick to her stomach. She was remembering things that she didn't want to remember.

She could hear Lucius's voice taunting her when he found a memory, or what he called 'a fear' of Skylar's.

He was toying with her and all Skylar could do was cover her ears. But despite trying to clock out his voice, somehow he was still in her head.

_"You're weak, pathetic... And... So very different."_

His voice was laughing in her ears once more.

"Shut up." She growled.

_"The little... Barbarian... Trying to be a hero... But... That can't be right? You're breeded to kill... Not to save... What kind of world trusts the life of every living being in the hands of one that is supposed to destroy?"_

His sick giggles ringing through her head was enough to finally break Skylar's shock. She tore her hood off and jumped to her feet.

"What the hell are you!? You're no man! You're a sick minded demon, THAT'S what you are! You're no Templar! Templars are supposed to protect! Not hurt people!" She screamed, looking around in search of the source of the voice.

But instead what she saw was no other person, but instead Skylar found herself surrounded by mist. She was deep in the heart of a forest, lost, cold, and so very alone. Looking around she realized that this was no ordinary forest. "I know this place..." She breathed as she slowly spun on her heel. "I remember this place." It was a memory, one that had gone forgotten deep in her mind, one that she didn't like at all. She felt the urge to try and claw her way out of that place. But how could she? She need to find the way out of that forest...

Skylar flinched when she heard the sick giggle of Lucius again.

"Where are you! Show yourself!" Skylar spat. She reached for her sword only to find that it was not on her belt, in fact her belt was gone. Realizing that she was completely unarmed she looked down to find that she was no longer in her leather hooded armor! But instead... A white dress that reached to her knees. She wasn't wearing any shoes either. "What the...?" Her voice was a whisper as memories flashed before her eyes.

The day she escaped the her fate in which was sealed for her by her blood of who she really was, was the day she slipped out a window with only the clothes on her back. That little dress was the only thing she had the day she escaped. A girl who was barely a teenager escaped death with basically nothing to help her survive.

She remembered how the girl who was barely a teenager ran into a misty forest in an attempt to escape death. Stumbling and falling only to force herself back to her feet before she continued to run once more. Her legs and feet suffering with every branch and stone that attacked her skin.

Running for hours and hours and days and weeks, somehow managing to survive.

Skylar only realized that her hands were covering her face after a few moments.

Taking several deep breaths to calm herself she shook her head. "Why are you showing me these?" Her voice was shaking and weak. Her legs were trembling and she wanted to so badly leave this place. It was hurting, she was scared.

_"So many horrible fears and memories... Only make me stronger!" _

That voice continued to taunt her with every memory it picked apart.

"What the hell are you?" Skylar shook her head, trying to fight against his pull once more.

She was rewarded with a sick laugh, one that could only be described as demonic.

"Okay..." Skylar backed up a few steps. He really was a demon. "You're not really Lucius are you?" She guessed.

_"He was weak... But had power... Nothing like the Herald... Gaining the power of the person with a voice that all will listen to... THAT is true power. All will bow before me... Through you."_

Skylar's eyes widened. "You're... Going to take my body... You're an Envy Demon..." She whispered.

Her mind was filled with his sick laughter, that was all she needed to tell her that her suspicions were right.

"I have to get out of here." She murmured as she looked around. "But... Which way do I go?" She looked around and all that could be seen was mist and trees. "There has to be a way out." With her brows furrowed together she began to walk in a random direction, hoping it would lead her... Somewhere.

Ever so slowly and carefully Skylar began to make her way deeper and deeper into the forest. Her feet were throbbing and her legs were cut up from the branches of bushes and fallen trees she had to climb over.

"You shouldn't be out here alone..." A gentle voice cooed.

Skylar nearly tripped over her own two feet when she heard that voice. It was so out of no where that it took her by surprise. "Who..?" She yelped as she looked around.

She didn't see anyone at first, but then she spotted a certain redhead stepping out from behind a tree. Her hood was down and she had a gentle look on her face. "You really shouldn't wander off, we can't risk our beloved Herald being harmed in anyway." It was Leliana.

"Lel?" Skylar squinted her eyes. "How... How did you get here?" She whispered.

"The question is... How did you get all the way out here?" Leliana's face twisted with worry. "Are you... Running away?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "Abandoning all of us?" She continued as she took a step closer.

"I-I'm not! I'm not abandoning anyone! I am trying to find my way out of this play to get back!" Skylar stumbled over her words as the redhead circled around her.

Skylar closed her eyes when she felt Leliana's gentle hands brush against her back. "You're lying." The Spymaster's voice sounded... Heartbroken. "You made it know that you didn't want to be with us, you never did, you don't want to be the hero, remember? So you abandoned us... And you let us die for your own survival."

Skylar whipped around to face Leliana who's face was still twisted with worry.

The Herald raised her hand and pointed at the Spymaster. "You're not Leliana." Skylar shook her head. "Leliana would be yelling at me right now for being in a forest, and I would never leave anyone to their deaths, not even if I hated being there."

The Spymaster's face twisted and her voice altered to once much darker. "_It makes no difference... You will lead your friends to their deaths... Nothing you do can save them..."_ The Not Leliana strolled away with her hands behind her back and vanished behind a tree.

"Is this how you play? Mind games?" Skylar called out. "Anything you throw at me I will know isn't real!" She cried. "You are going to lose so you might as well just give up now!"

_"Or what? The Barbarian is going to cut me down and gut me like a stuffed pig!?" _The Demon's voice was now a hysterical laugh as Skylar shook her head and pressed on. Her back was tingling where she felt Leliana's finger brush her. She had to keep telling herself that the Leliana that she just saw was not real... The Real Leliana would have never gotten that close...

Shivering and rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands Skylar sighed. Looking around she realized that she couldn't remember which way she came from. After a few moments of looking around she finally just began to walk in a random direction once again, hoping, praying to stumble upon anything that could be of any use.

His laughter was still in her ears even hours later.

The poor little Herald was beginning to feel like she was going insane!

But eventually as she was stepping over a tree stump the ground her foot landed on began to creek and crack beneath her weight. "What the...?" She didn't get the chance to finish her sentence before she found herself falling down a seemingly endless dark hole.

* * *

><p><strong>LELIANA I THINK YOU BETTER HURRY!<strong>

**XD I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**Tell me what you think so far!**


	15. The Girl Who Just Doesn't Fit In

The Shadow steed groaned and snarled in protest with how hard it was being pushed but the Spymaster didn't let up at all. She spurred it as hard as she could, desperately wanting it to go faster than it already was going.

The trees were nothing but blurs as Solas followed close behind. All he could do was keep up with the Spymaster because she somehow knew a way where they didn't need to go over the lake by boat. If they waited for the boat they would have to wait for at least a day for it to arrive at the docks, and that didn't sit too well with Leliana at all. She wanted to keep moving and get to the Templar's HQ as fast as they could.

With how fast they were traveling they definitely would arrive there in record time.

"Come on!" Leliana shouted as she felt the muscles of the beast under her strain and push as she continued to force it to go. "FASTER!" She cried.

"Leliana!" Solas coughed as he was rewarded with a gust of wind right in his face, he choked on his breath for a few seconds before he recovered. "I DON'T THINK THESE CREATURES CAN TAKE MUCH MORE OF THIS KIND OF ABUSE!" He cried.

But Leliana tuned him out and kept her mind focused on the task at hand.

Skylar needed help.

Skylar needed Solas.

Skylar needed HER!

Somehow deep down inside Leliana was kicking herself wondering if things would have been different if she would have gone with Cassandra and Skylar. Perhaps she would have been able to convince them to fall back to Haven to regroup? Or maybe she would have been able to round of more of the Agents who were posted around that area. Either way Skylar and Cassandra walked into that place extremely out numbered and that though alone made Leliana's palms sweat with fear and worry. "We're coming Skylar..." She breathed between her teeth at the exact same time that the Shadow Steed cried out in protest. "Just a little further."

Poor Solas was basically hugging the neck of his steed so he wouldn't fly off it's back. They were going at least five times as fast as a horse would.

Solas was beginning to understand why this was, he watched as the claws on the beast's feet dug into the ground before it basically flung itself forward with the leverage of every time it grabbed onto something. It was almost like these creatures were not even running but instead throwing themselves along the ground.

It was even more obvious as they jumped over logs. The Shadow steeds would jump up, grab the log, and fling itself forward before it took off again. The power in their lean, muscular legs was unbelievable. It was no wonder why these creatures were worth so much money. They were so strong and fast that they must be extremely hard to catch.

You would either need to sneak up on them or shoot them with a net. But obviously one would need to catch them without causing them injury.

But despite the strength these creatures possessed Solas knew that it was only a matter of time before the ones that they were riding were driven directly into the ground.

The Mage's heart clenched in his chest, he knew that Skylar needed them as soon as possible but knowing it was at the sacrifice of two magnificent creatures made him feel terrible. He didn't know how it was possible for Leliana to put another living beings life above another's. Even if they were not human, elf, Qunari, dwarf, or what ever else. It just didn't sit well with him.

And so before he could even stop himself he spurred his Shadow steed and managed to speed up faster than Leliana who looked at him with a look of sheer shock on her face.

The Mage cut in front of her and pulled his steed to a stop, bringing her's to a stop as well.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING!?" Leliana cried when she watched as Solas jumped off his steed and began to run his hand over it's snout.

Reaching forward to touch it's side the mage realized that it was still holding it's breath. He murmured something in Elvian and patted it again. "Rest, rest now. Even a beast as magnificent as you needs to have it's moment's rest to catch it's breath." Solas gave the creature one last pat before he turned towards Leliana with fury fresh in his eyes. "No, the question is what the hell do YOU think you are doing!?" He pointed his finger at the Spymaster's head. "These creatures need to rest, even if they are stronger and faster than a horse they still need to rest for even at least five minutes!" He challenged.

"No!" Leliana jumped down off her steed and stormed over to Solas and jabbed him in the chest with a gloved finger. "She needs us! We can't afford to waste time!" Her voice was desperate and her eyes were wild.

"Why do you care so much!?" Solas yelled right back. "You are always at Skylar's neck, always making this girl feel like she is walking on glass when she is around you, and here you are, suddenly ready to drop everything and run to her aide, this doesn't make any sense! Why does she suddenly matter so much to you now of all times?" He growled and poked Leliana's chest like she had done to him. "She is so on edge right now that I swear to your Maker I don't know how she hasn't crumbled to dust yet!" Solas threw his hands up in the air and began to pace back and forth. "But it seems that she may have finally crumbled..." He put his hands on his hips.

Leliana was silent for a moment. The shadow steeds began to gasp for air. Finally after all that time they finally showed that they really did need to rest. Guilt was fresh in her eyes but at the same time they still needed to keep moving. "Solas... She needs us." The Redhead said in a more calm voice.

"Leliana... Skylar needs more than just us. She is a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders. More so than you know. She has a personal life of her own that is more than just..." He motioned around them. "This..." He looked at Leliana with brows furrowed. "Surely you can understand this, having personal demons that haunt you?" He tilted his head to the side, making his pointy ears look lopsided for a second.

Leliana actually flinched at the question. She of all people did know that. And being reminded of that made her remember Skylar's little secret that slipped. The magic... But what other demons could she be hiding?

The Spymaster lowered her head for a moment and sighed.

Those eyes of Skylar's. They held so much. She shouldn't just be asking WHAT demons she was hiding... But how many...

She raised her head and was about to say something.

"I know you want to go to her, trust me I know. But... Ok I will say this in a way that you might understand. What if these creatures suddenly collapse in five minutes from now? We would have to walk the rest of the way and then we would be wasting even more time."

Leliana listened to his words. Her hands were on her hips as she slowly turned away from him. Her mind was swimming with suggestions. What they could do to get there faster? All of these things. But finally the Spymaster just kicked at the ground with a furious scream. "She shouldn't have gone after him with next to no backup!" Leliana's words were exhausted. "Why didn't she come back and regroup?" She sat down on a log with her chin in the palm of her hand as she watched as the reptile like creatures trotted over to a stream and began to lap up water like there was no tomorrow.

"Well... I imagine that she was worried that he would have escaped." Solas stood over her with a worried look on his face. Looking around to see that there was no one around before he sat down beside the Spymaster with his hands on his lap. "You never did answer my question." He grumbled.

"What question was that?" Leliana sighed and shook her head. This Mage was just too much for her sometimes.

"You didn't tell me why you care for her so much, you two are almost always at each other's necks, bickering, fighting, and then you are just always on her back about every choice she makes, it's almost like you hate the fact that she of all people is the Herald of Andraste." Solas shook his head, trying so hard to understand this woman. He was beginning to wonder of Varric's theories behind women were correct...

"Because..." Leliana began as she tilted her head back to look up towards the sky. "I need to tell her that I'm sorry..." Her voice was just a whisper.

* * *

><p>All of the air was knocked clean out of her lungs the moment her body finally hit the ground.<p>

Groaning and rolling onto her side with her arms hugging her stomach as she coughed she realized that she was no longer in the misty forest, but instead she was now in some kind of jail cell.

After a few moments and when she was finally back to her feet Skylar realized that she was back in the cell that she woke up in the first time she was in Haven. It was where Cassandra and the others had her locked up when they thought that she was the cause of the giant breach in the sky.

Being back in that place made her shiver in disgust. She didn't like it there at all.

_"WHY DID YOU DO IT!?"_

The voice was loud and clear...

Skylar turned to find Cassandra pacing back and forth in front of a prisoner. As the Herald watched she realized that the prisoner... Was her.

"What the hell...?" The Herald slowly walked around the scene. Somehow they couldn't see her. Watching it play out, word for word as if it was straight from her memory made Skylar feel like she was going to be sick. She needed to get out of there.

Hastily making her way around the memory she quickly made her way over to the door where she tore it open and stepped through before she slammed it shut by leaning her back against it. Her closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing...

But as soon as she took a breath she began to cough and wheeze. Instantly bringing her hands to her mouth she opened her eyes that were almost instantly stung with smoke. "Maker..." She coughed again trying so hard to shield her face from the heat. She was completely surrounded by flames! After a moment she realized that she might be better off in the other room... But then as she reached back her hand was met by a stone wall instead of a door.

"What!?" Skylar yelped and whipped around on her heel to find that the door was gone, as if it was never there in the first place. "No... NO!" She smacked her hands against the wall not knowing what to do! Where was she supposed to go!? If she didn't move soon she was surely to burn to death. The flames were growing angrier by the second. Her skin felt like it was burning!

Turning around and flattening herself against the wall she held her breath and looked around. Once again the Demon's one's sick laugh was in her head. Taunting her, promising her a slow and painful death!

When Skylar realized that she couldn't see anything she slowly slid down the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. What was she supposed to do?

She listened to the crackling of the flames. But soon she could hear a soft melody in her ears. Blinking and looking around she felt like she knew that melody... Where did she hear it from... Why was it so familiar to her?

Deep, strong voices, singing a turn but it was in a different language, one that Skylar knew from long ago.

Skylar's eyes widened and she was instantly on her feet, desperately looking for anything that she could use.

It was her native tongue.

_"Ah... I like this one... This memory... This fear... This is a strong one..." _The Demon's voice laughed in her ears again.

He had just dug deep enough where he would find some of Skylar's most secret and most horrific fears.

"No..." The Herald's voice was just a breath as her eyes widened.

There through the flames she saw them. Or at least the outlines of their bodies. She could see the shapes of the helmets on their heads, the massive swords and shields, their huge giant like bodies... Vikings. And what Skylar thought of as true monsters.

With her eyes locked on the massive giant like bodies she slowly shimmied along the wall, somehow avoiding the dangerous lick of the flames that wanted to so badly taste her skin.

She suddenly wasn't so scared of the fire anymore. It was like they were looking for her... And just as Skylar thought she may have found a way out... They found her.

Every head turned to look at her all at once.

A small yelp escaped her lips before she bolted. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she truly thought that it was about to explode, every tiny hair that was on the back of her neck was standing straight up. This was fear to a whole new level. She didn't even know how she was still standing upright! Let alone... Running.

She was running now, as fast as she could. Dodging the flames that reached for her, cutting around corners, doing everything she could to stay away from the Vikings.

_"Poor... Poor... Little... Girl... Poor... Stupid girl..." _The Demon chuckled. _"The Girl spent almost her entire life running and now after everything, even now she still runs from what she truly is, from her fate that is sealed in stone. Why do you not simply accept it... You are an abomination... You need to be experimented... Your existence is a mistake." _

"Shut up!" Skylar snarled as she jumped through a wall of fire with her arms guarding her face as she finally found another doorway. Slamming against it, trying so hard to open the door she realized that it was locked. Skylar was growing more frantic with every second that passed, and the Demon's sick voice in her head was not making matters any better!

_"What will the others think of you if they find out? Already two people know and they can't look at you the same way again... They see you as a monster, a small missfit viking who is nothing more than a barbarian in disguised. Do you really think they trust you?" _

Skylar's hand frantically worked at the lock. She somehow found a lockpick but her poor hands were shaking too badly for her to be able to get it open.

_"Look at Solas, that mage... He looks at you with disgust in his eyes, when he found out what you were he began to research... He knows almost every detail there is to know about your kind... How... Cruel and monstrous they are... How they are simply MISTAKES who do nothing but cause hurt! And Iron Bull... He doesn't care... All he sees is another challenge... He wants to see you turn into a monster so he can challenge you... Simple as that... No one truly cares... And Leliana..."_

Skylar's hands froze and she bit her lower lip as her brow furrowed. "Shut up..." She whispered.

_"Leliana... She saw what you can do... What you are... She knows you are a mage... She knows you are hiding it... But why? She will find out...And then it's only a matter of time before she finds out who you truly are... She will be disgusted, angry... And horrified... She won't want anything to do with a FREAK, SHE WON'T WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH A CREATURE THAT IS BRED FOR THE SOUL REASON OF DESTRUCTION! AND THEN TO MAKE MATERS WORSE! A VIKING MAGE! DO YOU THINK ANYONE WOULD WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T FIT ANYWHERE!? YOU DON'T FIT IN WITH VIKINGS AND YOU DON'T FIT IN WITH ANYONE ELSE! YOU'RE A LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! YOU LIED TO EVERYONE! YOU ARE FILTH!"_

"SHUT UP!" Skylar screamed when she finally just slammed her hands against the door over and over again. "SHUT UP!"

The Vikings found her.

Skylar froze when she realized that she could see them getting closer out of the corner of her eye. Desperately she began to pick the lock again as the Demon screamed and laughed in her ears.

Finally the moment came when she thought that it was all over...

Click.

The Door unlocked and she tumbled into the next room.

She was on her feet in an instant, slamming and locking the door behind her.

This room was quiet.

Silence...

She slid down the door and sat on the floor where she buried her face into her knees and wept as she shook uncontrollably. "This... This is hell..." She whispered to herself.

* * *

><p><strong>Poor little Skylar... OnO She wants to get out of that place so badly... How is she going to get out?<strong>

**XD I can't help but to wonder just how long she has been in there for? Hours? Days? Weeks?**

**And Leliana?**

**Do you think she will even make it to Skylar's side..?**

**Lemme know what you guys think!**

**R&R**

**And I will see you guys next time! X3**


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